Man City's unbeaten April run, Mikel Arteta's unwanted record and Arsenal near misses

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They say bad things come in threes, so here's one for Arsenal : Manchester City haven't lost in April in five years, the Gunners haven't won at the Etihad in 11 years and Mikel Arteta has never beaten them on their own patch.

Sunday therefore seems like a foregone conclusion with Pep Guardiola and co smelling blood as the Gunners feel an unwanted sense of deja vu with City chasing them down in the final weeks of the season.

Saturday set the scene for a seismic weekend in the Premier League title race. Bournemouth extended their unbeaten run to 12 games, but the bigger news story was how they gave the title picture a new complexion by winning 2-1 at the Emirates.

Arsenal, leading City by nine points, now know they could be overtaken inside 11 days and that sequence of events began with City claiming a 3-0 win at Chelsea . Their performance having all the hallmarks of an unstoppable force.

The problem for Arteta is that his team look anything but an immovable object. They look very moveable. Three losses in the space of four games has seen their quadruple dream die and now fears of another trophyless season are beginning to mount, particularly among a nervous fanbase.

The importance of Sunday's clash at 4.30pm cannot be overstated. Not since they claimed the Premier League crown in 2004 had Arsenal been as well placed to land the title as they have been this season. Leaders for much of the season, they've enjoyed comfortable leads over a City side that have threatened to hit top gear, but continued to stall.

The worry for Arsenal though is that we've hit the fourth month of the calendar year. April and City go hand in hand with relentless winning runs, the like of which we've seen numerous times from Guardiola's side. In fact you have to go back to 2021 to see the last time City were beaten in April, Leeds the shock victors on that occasion.

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Since then the numbers are nothing shy of incredible. City have played 22 games, winning 20 of them and drawing twice. Those stalemates coming against Liverpool in 2022 and Manchester United 12 months ago.

Among those 20 victories includes a 4-1 hammering of Arsenal in 2023. That was the first experience Arteta had of watching City coming, and coming until they were gone. The Manchester outfit produced a statement performance that day, all but winning the title with games to spare as they broke the Gunners' spirit.

Arsenal are made of sterner stuff than they were then, but the loss to Bournemouth showed that there is still a brittleness to the north Londoners. The numbers back that up. In the five years that City have gone unbeaten in April Arsenal themselves have lost seven and drawn seven. Those numbers won't fly this time round if they want to get over the line.

Once upon a time Arteta spent much of his time at the Etihad smiling as he stood alongside Guardiola watching the City train roll on and on. Those exploits as a No 2 prompted Arsenal to make him their No 1.

Return trips to the blue side of Manchester have been a mix of frustrating and forgettable. His first a 1-0 reverse, by no means disgraceful, but then the pain really started. A 5-0 humbling in 2021, which had City two goals and a man up inside 35 minutes, saw the away section emptying before half-time.

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Guardiola would issue a staunch defence of Arteta despite Arsenal being pointless, goalless and sat bottom of the table. He said: “He is above and beyond a good manager. The correct personality, he is incredibly loved by all of us. We were sad when he left." The City boss maintained: "I’m pretty sure, if they trust him, he will do a good job at Arsenal.”

There would be signs of that the following year when Arsenal mounted a title challenge, but they still lost 4-1 in a defining game at the Etihad. 12 months later they'd battle to a goalless draw, which left them top at that point, only for them to slip-up and watch City claim another title.

Their stalemate was mocked by Rodri, who claimed they had the mentality of a team who wanted not to lose, rather than to win. He said: "When they came here, they faced us at the Etihad, I saw them and said: 'Ah, these guys, they don't want to beat us, they just want a draw.' And that mentality, I don't think we would do it the same way."

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Last season Arsenal looked set to rid of their Etihad hoodoo, leading 2-1 in stoppage time despite being a man down for more than half of the game. John Stones would score the latest of late equalisers to deny Arsenal the psychological win they so crave.

And so to Sunday, where a win for either team could prove to be a crushing mental blow, even if the title race will be alive for six games yet. Gary Neville recently claimed that Arsenal are due their moment whereby they go to Manchester and win to underline the passing of the baton.

"I don't do predictions, I'm pretty poor at them," he said. "But this is the year they'll go and win at City. That will be where you really do recognise that they are champions."

If that is to be the case, a lot of recent history will need to be rewritten, including one of those rare April losses for Guardiola and co.

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