Man City Has Psychological Edge Over Arsenal in EPL Race - Rooney

Man City Has Psychological Edge Over Arsenal in EPL Race – Rooney

Former England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has pointed out that Manchester City “will have the edge” psychologically in the Premier League title race. At the top of the EPL table is Arsenal, who are six points clear having played one game more, and travel to Etihad Stadium on Sunday,…...

By Abdul-hafeez Fadehan

April 13, 2026 9:54 AM GMT+1

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Manchester City's Belgian midfielder #11 Jeremy Doku (C) and teammates celebrate on the pitch after the English League Cup final football match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in London on March 22, 2026. City won the game 2-0. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /

Former England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has pointed out that Manchester City “will have the edge” psychologically in the Premier League title race.

At the top of the EPL table is Arsenal, who are six points clear having played one game more, and travel to Etihad Stadium on Sunday, a match presumed to be a decider for the title race.

Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, the former English captain maintained that City has the winning mentality and a very strong manager.

Rooney said, “Manchester 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.

“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.”

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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 the 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.”