SUNDAY SCHOOLED

Gunners wilt in the heat of battle

- JOHN CROSS

THE mark of true champions is being able to handle the pressure.

And one-by-one they crumbled. First Liverpool, then Arsenal lost their nerve, as Mikel Arteta could not take advantage of what could be a pivotal weekend in the title race.

It was Gary Lineker who made the famous quote: "Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."

You can update that. "Twenty-two men chase a ball for nine months and at the end, Manchester City always win."

Pep Guardiola's side applied the pressure by thrashing Luton on Saturday to go top of the table for the first time since November - and neither of their rivals were able to respond.

In fact, they both fell apart. City have the know-how, experience and now suddenly look favourites to win a fourth title in a row.

By comparison, Arsenal looked tired, flat and short of ideas. Arsenal defenders Gabriel, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko were all poor but they were equally lacklustre up front.