Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has predicted a 'tough' end to the season for Arsenal and City as they fight it out for the Premier League title. The Gunners hold an eight-point lead at the top of the table heading into the final 10 games of the season.
Pep Guardiola's side can close the gap back down to five points should they win their important game in hand. Mikel Arteta is facing a few injury concerns ahead of the final stretch of the season, with an update on William Saliba's fitness yet to be provided.
Takehiro Tomiyasu is set to miss the rest of the 2022/23 campaign after undergoing surgery following his knee injury which he sustained against Sporting CP earlier this month. City are hoping to have Erling Haaland available for selection - after he was withdrawn from Norway's squad during the international break with a groin problem - ahead of their return to action in the Premier League as they take on Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
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Ake admitted that every game in the Premier League is 'difficult' and that City will need to win their remaining 11 games if they are to stand a chance of winning the title ahead of Arsenal. "I think it's going to go right to the end," Ake told SPORTBible.
"It's very tight. Everything can change. We still have to play them at home, so that's going to be a massive, massive game.
"We know, from now on, that every game is going to be vital. If you lose one point, if you lose two points. It's so difficult to come back from it. The only thing we can do is win our games.
"We have a tough test coming up against Liverpool, which is the first one after the international break. That is going to be tough, but we need to win them all."
Ake has predicted a tough end to the season for the Gunners and believes the title race will go down to the final matchday. The Dutchman continued: "I think all of Arsenal's remaining games are difficult to be fair.
"In some of our previous games, we dropped points to teams that people didn't expect us to drop points against. But they lost against Everton, too.
"Every game in the league is so difficult. You can't relax at any second because teams will respond.
"I think it's going to go all the way to the end. The only thing we can do is focus on us and see how it goes."
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