Andy Cole has questioned whether Arsenal will deal with the inevitable 'rough patch' that comes with a title race and looked back on a key message Sir Alex Ferguson relayed to his Manchester United side.
A run of five straight league wins - including last Saturday's thrilling 2-1 Manchester derby comeback - had pulled United back into the mix for the Premier League top spot, and despite a mid-week hiccup that saw them drop two points at Crystal Palace, victory at the Emirates on Sunday would pull all three leading runners to within five points of each other.
Title talk has only recently emerged in M16, with Erik ten Hag's side one of several battling for a top-four spot up until last weekend. And with this unprecedented campaign only just reaching its halfway stage, many are cautious not to get carried away. One of those is Cole, who knows that both his former side and the Gunners will go through a tough spell - as City are doing currently - and highlights how they ride that period as key to the final standings come May.
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"Sir Alex Ferguson always said to us that the title race doesn’t get decided in January, it gets decided in April," Cole told Betway. "It’s too hard to give a prediction for the title with so many games to go because there are so many peaks and troughs to come.
"Over 38 games you will always hit a rough patch, but Arsenal and Man Utd haven’t had one yet and we don’t know how they’ll deal with it when they do because they’re not used to being in this position.
"Arsenal are doing extremely well, they’re playing some very good football, but when that rough patch happens it will be a test. Not many of that dressing room have been in that position. If they lose a couple of games, it’s suddenly right back on again. Players like Oleksandr Zinchenko, who I really like, will be so crucial in those moments because he’s at least had those experiences.
"City seem to be having their rough patch now, but with them you know it won’t be long until they’re back at it. They have so much experience in that dressing room now. They’ll soon be creating chances and scoring goals again."
Three points at the Emirates on Sunday - a ground where only Newcastle have not lost this season - will see those smatterings of title talk proliferate throughout the red half of Manchester.
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