Manchester City WILL win the Premier League for a fifth time in a row, insists first-team star | OneFootball

Manuel Akanji has insisted that Manchester City will once again win the Premier League this season, speaking after the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.

The two sides went head-to-head for the first time this season, having engaged in a hotly-contested affair that saw Leandro Trossard sent off in the first-half and both sets of players embroiled in confrontations.

Erling Haaland put Manchester City ahead inside 10 minutes, before goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes would put the Gunners ahead prior to Trossard’s dismissal. John Stones would score in the eighth minute of additional time to rescue a point.

Manchester City’s pursuit of claiming all three points against a nine-man Arsenal defence and consistent attempts at disrupting the game from Mikel Arteta’s side has left Pep Guardiola’s players with frustration after the contest.

The latest claim, following comments from John Stones and Bernardo Silva in particular, comes from Manuel Akanji, who believes that the match on Sunday afternoon has showcased Manchester City’s impending success in the top-flight onc eagain.

Speaking after the contest at the Etihad, Akanji insisted that Arsenal are one of the best when it comes to the ‘dark arts’ of football, but believes the Premier League trophy will return to City for a fifth successive season.

“I don’t think there are many better than them at it. But in the end we always won the title and I don’t think it’s going to be different this year,” Akanji claimed.

“Like I said it’s still early in the season, I think again, we’re going to win the league again, and we don’t focus too much on Arsenal.

“Obviously, the focus today was on them because we played against them, but now we don’t play them for half a year, so still focusing ourselves on our games, and then we will see.”

Manuel Akanji and his Manchester City teammates have little to no time to reflect on the contest against Arsenal, returning to duties in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night with a home tie in the third round of the competition against Watford.

Pep Guardiola will likely address the performance in more depth before the club’s return to Premier League action on Saturday afternoon, when City travel to St James’ Park for a meeting against Newcastle United.