Skip to content
Advertisement

Man City have psychological edge over Arsenal - Rooney

Wayne Rooney says Manchester City have the psychological edge over leaders Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

schedule 05:21 visibility 87 views
Man City have psychological edge over Arsenal - Rooney
Source: BBC Sport

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

Man City v Arsenal - winner takes all?

Former England captain Wayne Rooney says Manchester City "will have the edge" psychologically in the Premier League title race.

Leaders Arsenal, who are six points clear having played one game more, travel to Etihad Stadium on Sunday (16:30 BST).

Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, he said City "know how to win the title" and "have a manager who knows how to do it".

"I think City will have the edge on that, just purely the manager and players they've got. They will be able to stay a little calmer than the Arsenal players," said Rooney.

"They will be worried because when you go on a run and lose a few games, you start thinking 'where's the next goal, the next win going to come from?' That negative mindset really has an impact on your performance."

Manchester City beat Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday to take advantage of Arsenal slipping up with a 2-1 defeat by Bournemouth on Saturday.

Rooney said that whoever wins Sunday's "title decider" in Manchester will be favourites to win the league.

He added that he thinks a draw will be a "good point" for Arsenal, who may need to "play dirty".

Rooney added Mikel Arteta's side must "be tough to break down, make sure there's no gaps between the lines and try to hit them on the break".

He added: "Whether the fans like that type of football or not, they have to do anything to stop City winning. They need to be resilient enough to stop City from scoring."

'Will be a disaster' if Spurs go down

Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, end the weekend sitting in the relegation zone, following their defeat at Sunderland and West Ham's win against Wolves.

Rooney said Spurs' performance was "a bit flat" in the north east, which prevented them being able to have a new-manager bounce in Roberto de Zerbi's first game in charge.

"Sometimes you get a bounce but I think you get that when a new manager comes in and you are front-footed and aggressive on the ball," he said. "I thought they were a bit in between."

The former England striker added that De Zerbi "needs to find some answers quickly" and that dropping to the Championship would be disastrous for the club.

"It will be a disaster for them if they do go [down]," said Rooney. "I think that's where some of those players probably are looking at it thinking if they go down they can move on and go to a different club.

"If they don't get back in the Premier League in the first year, that will be an absolute nightmare for them."

Tottenham have not won a Premier League match in 2026 and their next game is at home to Brighton on Saturday (17:30).

Rooney said they must figure out a way to win to help boost their confidence.

"If they can do that then they give themselves a chance. The longer it goes without winning is difficult for them."

Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Follow your club with BBC Sport

Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast

Get football news sent straight to your phone

newspaper

Originally published at

BBC Sport

open_in_new Read Full Article

Related Articles

The price of passion: World Cup fans face soaring costs
Sports

The price of passion: World Cup fans face soaring costs

Football: a force for social cohesion and unity among peoples. But to fully experience that passion and those emotions, World Cup fans making the trip should expect a hefty bill. Airfare prices are skyrocketing during the tournament. Stadium seats...

France 24

Read More

Iran World Cup squad to head for Mexico via Spain
Sports

Iran World Cup squad to head for Mexico via Spain

Iran’s national football team will travel to Spain before heading to its World Cup base in Mexico, despite players still awaiting Mexican and US visas ahead of the 2026 tournament. The 2026 World Cup is being hosted jointly by the United States...

Euronews