Mikel Arteta's Arsenal passed another test of their title credentials on Sunday, but Sky Sports' punditry team weren't all convinced the Gunners will go all the way.
Reigning champions Manchester City opened the door for the league leaders by dropping points either side of the World Cup break. However, after beating Tottenham on Thursday night, they put three goals past Wolves on Sunday to ramp up the pressure on Arteta's team ahead of the 4:30pm kick-off against Manchester United.
Arsenal produced the perfect response, though, despite going behind during the first half. Eddie Nketiah scored twice in a 3-2 victory, including a last-minute winner, to keep the leaders five points in front with a game in hand on their closest challengers.
Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was among those in the Sky Sports studio for the game, and was torn on the title race. The Spaniard was on Arsenal's books when they last won the title in 2003-04, though he only played cup games that season, and would later win the league with Chelsea under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
"They [Manchester City] will hunt them down for sure, but I still believe that Arsenal have the resources to win the league this year," Como midfielder Fabregas said. "They have a manager that knows what he’s doing, they have a manager that will put pressure on his players, and what I like today with this young group of players was in the last five minutes they handled the game really well.
"You see Nketiah going into the corner and before maybe in my years we wouldn’t have done that, we would have just tried to play and score a fourth. I really like that mentality, they know exactly what they’re doing, and I think it feels it’s the right moment and the right group of players to achieve that."
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Fabregas' fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp also banged the drum for the London side. "Why can’t they [win the league]?" the former Tottenham and Liverpool midfielder asked.
"Pep [Guardiola]’s interview after the Spurs game, you can see there’s something not quite right with them. He’s searching for the right team, the right formation, defensively they’re changing personnel all the time. I’ve seen Leicester win a Premier League - anything can happen - why can’t Arsenal win it?
"They’ve got momentum, quality, the manager, everything is going their way. They’re going to need little bits of luck of course, but right now I certainly think they can do it. Gary [Neville]touched on it, the last team you would want in world football hunting you down is Man City, they’re the only contenders, it’s just between those two."
Roy Keane was also encouraged by Arsenal's performance. However, despite the Gunners' lead, the multiple Premier League champion couldn't look past the defending champions.
"If I were to put money on it I would still think City, but what we’ve seen of Arsenal today, seeing them live, the game today, the technical ability, the mentality today, it will take a lot to stop them and I wouldn’t be shocked if they do go on and win it," Keane said. "I still maybe sway towards Manchester City, just because of what they’ve shown us over the last few years.
Gary Neville was the fourth pundit on the panel, and the former Man Utd and England star was the biggest advocate for City. However, he remained impressed with Arsenal's consistency and the fact that they are even part of a title race at this stage in the season after finishing fifth last term.
"I don’t see them [Arsenal] going on to win the league, I see Manchester City winning it because what they’ve got in them is a special run," Neville said. "I think Arsenal will lose one or two matches and City will be right on their shoulders and it will become very difficult for them.
"They could win the league, and to be honest with you saying they could win the league, I thought they’d be nowhere near winning the league - I can’t believe they’re in the chat. The fact they’re in the chat about winning the league is incredible so it’s not a negative thing for me to say I think City will win it because that’s what we said at the start of the season.
"City will hunt them down, but they’re in with a shout and that is unbelievable for Mikel Arteta. I was really worried for him at the end of last season, I thought it could get difficult for him."
City and Arsenal are due to meet in the FA Cup on Friday, before the pair resume their league battle. Arsenal have a lunchtime kick-off at Everton on February 4 as their next league outing, while Pep Guardiola's challengers host Tottenham the following day.
