Paul Scholes makes Manchester City title prediction as Arsenal sweat over déjà vu
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes Manchester City are the team to beat in the Premier League title race, even though Arsenal are four points clear at the top of the table.
Pep Guardiola’s side started the season with a 4-0 win over Wolves, but back-to-back defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion respectively brought back memories of the 2024-25 campaign – one of Guardiola’s worst managerial campaigns.
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Since then, the eight-time Premier League champions have recovered and currently sit second in England’s top flight after condemning Liverpool to a 3-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Paul Scholes – who played 716 times for Manchester United from 1994 to 2013 – believes his former club’s local rivals are the team to beat in the Premier League title race.
The former England international claims his experience and recent form give City a decided advantage over Mikel Arteta’s side, who blew an eight-point lead in the 2022-23 campaign to effectively hand City their first piece of silverware en route to a historic treble.
“I haven’t been that impressed with (Manchester) City, but yesterday (Sunday against Liverpool) I thought for the first time they were going to be (challengers),” Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
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“I think they (Manchester City) are still favorites ahead of Arsenal because of what they did.
“I know Arsenal are four points ahead, but with the experience they have and Arsenal don’t have it. You have to put them (Manchester City) slightly ahead of them.”
Guardiola’s side have won six of the last eight Premier League titles during a period where they won four in a row – a feat never before achieved in English football – between the 2020-21 and 2023-24 seasons.
The Catalan is hoping to win the Premier League again this season, with reports suggesting it could be his final season in England after nine successful years at the club – winning 18 trophies during that time.
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City have collected 11 wins in 14 games in all competitions since September and look set to push Arsenal all the way for the league title, after reducing the Gunners’ lead at the top of the table to four points at the weekend.
Mikel Arteta and his colleagues will be sweating over Manchester City’s resurgence as it is a film they know all too well, although the former City assistant will insist that his players remain fully focused on themselves and not allow themselves to be distracted by the Blues, who are slowly but surely returning to their best after an indifferent start to the 2025-26 campaign.