Within minutes of the final whistle at Anfield yesterday, the media narrative machine cranked into gear. Sky Sports declared City 'BACK in the title race.' The BBC announced 'pressure now firmly on Arsenal.' TalkSport pundits lined up to explain how this is where Arsenal's inexperience will show.

They got their drama and their storyline that they desperately sought over the past months. That there is an agenda and bias against Arsenal is not a secret. The media and the pundits want us to fail. However, they are wrong.

The game yesterday didn't prove that City are back. It proved that Liverpool are broken. And Arsenal still six points clear with 13 matches to play isn't pressure on us. It's pressure on City, who now have zero margin for error.

Where do you even begin with Liverpool this season? They won the title last year with authority. They were supposed to kick on. The Gary Nevilles and Jamie Carraghers had already declared them winners even before the season had started properly. Instead, they've produced one of the most spectacular collapses in recent Premier League history.

The statistics are damning. They've conceded four 90th-minute winners in league matches this season, already the joint-most by any team in a single Premier League campaign. Four times they've been ahead or level going into stoppage time and still managed to lose. The supposed ‘mentality monsters’ have shown a catastrophic mental fragility this season.

Yesterday was the perfect microcosm of their season. Dominik Szoboszlai scored an absolute screamer of a free-kick in the 74th minute. They were 15 minutes away from doing Arsenal a massive favour and potentially ending City's title challenge. But they concede an equaliser in the 84th minute when Szoboszlai played Bernardo Silva onside because he didn't move with the defensive line. Then Alisson, their supposedly world-class goalkeeper, rushed out like a madman to wipe out Matheus Nunes for a stonewall penalty in stoppage time.

This is the same Liverpool side that spent £416 million in the summer transfer window, £121 million more than the next highest spender in the Premier League. They bought Alexander Isak for £125 million, breaking the British transfer record. They added Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike, and Milos Kerkez. On paper, this squad should be walking the league. Instead, they're fighting for their Champions League lives, sitting in sixth place.

Their much-vaunted pressing system that defined them under Arne Slot last season is completely dysfunctional. The defensive structure is easily pulled out of shape, leaving huge gaps in midfield. Virgil van Dijk, supposedly one of the best defenders in the world, has been dreadful. Ibrahima Konate looks like he's never seen a football before. The entire back line that was so solid last season has turned into a shambles.

And the mental fragility? It's staggering. They started the season well with five consecutive wins, then went on a four-match losing streak that killed their title hopes by early November. Since then, they've been in limbo, good enough to beat the cannon fodder but utterly incapable of winning the matches that matter.

Yesterday at Anfield summed it all up. They had City on the ropes. For 74 minutes, it was a nothing game, flat, lifeless, devoid of quality from both sides. Then Szoboszlai produced a moment of brilliance to give them the lead, and all they had to do was see the game out. Instead, they fell apart. They've lost home and away to City in a league season for the first time in 89 years. Arne Slot's brave new Liverpool project is in tatters, and no amount of complaining about referees or VAR decisions can hide that fact.

But here's what really grinds my gears about yesterday's result. It's not City winning, frustrating as that is. It's the predictable, tiresome reaction from the media and pundits who can now dust off their favorite script. City are back in the title race, they'll tell you. They're the champions who know how to win. Arsenal will inevitably collapse under the pressure.

But let’s look at what actually happened. City scraped a 2-1 win at Anfield thanks to Liverpool gifting them the game. They were largely anonymous for 84 minutes. Erling Haaland did nothing until he headed the ball into Bernardo Silva's path for the equaliser, then scored a penalty after Alisson's lunacy. Before this match, City were in dire form. They'd surrendered nine points in the second half of their previous six league matches in 2026, scoring zero goals while conceding six times. This is the same City side that drew with Tottenham after dominating the first half, drew with Chelsea at home after being in cruise control, and generally looked like a team completely lacking their usual ruthlessness.

What the pundits are actually saying

In the 24 hours since Liverpool's collapse, the narrative shift has been remarkable.

Sky Sports News: 'Manchester City are BACK in the title race.' BBC Sport: 'Pressure now firmly on Arsenal after City's statement win.' TalkSport: 'This is where Arsenal's inexperience will show. City know how to win titles.'

A 'statement win'? City were gifted two goals by catastrophic Liverpool errors. They created virtually nothing for 84 minutes. They looked like a team desperate not to lose, not a team confident they'd win. But facts don’t fit the narrative. The narrative needs City to be the relentless machine, Arsenal to be the nervous pretenders, and Liverpool's incompetence to be reframed as City's brilliance.

Gary Neville, that paragon of impartial punditry, spent weeks saying City don't have the killer instinct anymore, that they struggle under pressure, that their defensive spine isn't good enough to win a title. He said they look 'well short' of title-winning quality. But now, after one fortunate win at Anfield where they didn't even play particularly well, suddenly they're back in it? Suddenly Arsenal should be worried?

Ian Ladyman in the Daily Mail waxed lyrical about City 'sending a message to Arsenal' and how the Gunners 'will feel City's presence from this point on.' Bernardo Silva himself admitted that the team felt the title race would be over if they lost. That's how desperate they were. That's how much pressure they were under. And somehow, Arsenal are supposed to be the ones feeling the heat?

The double standard Is glaring

When we beat Sunderland 3-0 on Saturday, it was 'expected,' 'routine,' 'nothing special.' We went nine points clear and it was treated as par for the course. When City scraped a 2-1 win thanks to two defensive howlers, it was a 'statement,' a 'message to Arsenal,' proof they're 'back in it.'

If Arsenal had conceded those two goals Liverpool did, the media would have spent a week dissecting our 'mentality issues' and 'defensive fragility.' When City benefit from them, it's suddenly proof of their 'championship DNA' and 'winning mentality.' The hypocrisy is staggering, but it's nothing new. We have been fighting against media bias for years. The difference this season is that we're not letting it affect us.

What the media won't tell you about City's form

Here are the facts the narrative merchants are conveniently ignoring. City have dropped nine points in the second half of their last six league matches before yesterday. They've scored zero second-half goals while conceding six in 2026. They drew with Tottenham after dominating the first half. They drew with Chelsea after being in cruise control. They drew with Brighton after missing 'a litany of chances.' Before yesterday, Gary Neville said they looked 'well short' of title-winning quality.

One fortunate win where Liverpool self-destructed doesn't erase these systemic issues. But you won't hear pundits talking about City's fragility.

Jamie Carragher said in November that Arsenal are 'probably the third-best team' when everyone plays at their best, that Liverpool and City can blow teams away while Arsenal have to grind. The same Jamie Carragher who played for Liverpool and has spent his entire punditry career undermining anything positive about Arsenal.

Never mind that we demolished Aston Villa 4-1. Never mind that we're six points clear for a reason. Never mind that we've shown exactly the kind of control and consistency that wins titles. No, apparently we're just lucky to be ahead.

The media want City to come back. They want the drama. They want the storyline of Guardiola pulling off another miraculous recovery. Because Arsenal winning the league after 22 years isn't the story they want to tell. It doesn't generate the clicks and the engagement that 'Arsenal Bottlejobs Part 3' would deliver.

Here's what the pundits don't want to acknowledge. This Arsenal team is not the same one that fell short in 2022-23 or 2023-24. We are fundamentally different, both in quality and mentality.

We beat Sunderland 3-0 on Saturday at the Emirates. It wasn't spectacular, but it was exactly what champions do. We took care of business. Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyökeres sealed the win, and we went nine points clear before City even kicked a ball at Anfield.

Yes, City's win cuts that back to six, but six points with 13 games remaining is still a commanding advantage. To put it in perspective, after 24 matches in 2023-24, we had 53 points. We finished that season with 89 points. This season, we already have 56 points after 25 matches. We're ahead of that pace. And the maximum points total City can achieve now? 89. The exact number we reached two years ago when we finished second.

In previous seasons, we relied heavily on Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus. When they weren't at their best, we struggled. This season we have real depth. The signings of Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres, Ricardo Calafiori, and Piero Hincapie have transformed this squad. We can rotate without dropping our level, and handle injuries without falling apart.

Look at how we've performed under pressure this season. When Saka and Odegaard missed time, we kept winning. We kept clean sheets when Gabriel and Saliba were out injured. When Merino got injured requiring foot surgery, we didn't collapse. We've faced difficult moments, tricky fixtures against newly-promoted sides, and we've come through them.

The criticism from outside that we’re too defensive, too cautious, and too focused on set pieces isn’t really a criticism of our style of play. It’s more an expression of them begrudging our ability to win from any situation, against any tactic employed against us.

The calendar is more congested than ever. Teams are fitter, more organised, harder to break down. You can't blow teams away every week like you could 10 years ago. What you can do is be controlled, pragmatic, and emotionless, exactly what pundits have criticised us for being. But here's the thing. It works.

Liverpool proved yesterday why the swashbuckling approach doesn't always cut it anymore. They're chaotic, they're exciting, they create chances, and they can't defend.

Arsenal don't do that. When we're ahead, we stay ahead. We're organised. We're disciplined. We don't give opponents sniffs at comebacks. It isn’t always pretty, but it is effective. And effectiveness is what wins leagues, not style points.

The media want you to believe that Arsenal winning ugly is a weakness. In reality, it's our greatest strength. We don't need to blow teams away 4-0 to feel good about ourselves. We just need to win and accumulate points.

Let's strip away the noise and look at cold, hard mathematics.

With 13 games left, the gap is six points: Arsenal on 56, City on 50. City’s task is simple: they must outscore us by at least seven points from here. That’s the only way they finish above us on points. Even if City go perfect, we can still win the league by taking 34 points from 13. That’s 11 wins, a draw, and one loss.

The fixture list offers us genuine encouragement. Looking at the remaining difficult matches for the top three, we have the most favorable run-in. We face Brentford away, tricky but winnable. Tottenham away in the North London Derby, always fierce but we've handled them before. Chelsea at home and Newcastle at home, both matches we should win if we perform. And yes, we still have to go to the Etihad to face City, but if we've done our job in the intervening weeks, that match won’t be a decider.

City, meanwhile, still have to navigate trips to Newcastle and Chelsea away. They host Villa and have that pressure-cooker atmosphere at the Etihad for our visit. Every match for them is a must-win. Every dropped point increases the gap. The pressure is on them, not us.

The media will tell you City have the experience, the mentality, the championship DNA. What they won't tell you is that experience doesn't matter if you're six points behind with 13 matches left and no margin for error.

The narrative will be relentless. Every week until May, you'll hear it. 'City are gaining momentum.' 'Arsenal are feeling the pressure.' 'This is where their inexperience shows.' 'Guardiola always finds a way.'

Ignore it. All of it.

The only numbers that matter are on the league table. We're six points clear. City need to win 13 straight while we slip up multiple times. That's the reality, not the media's fantasy of a City comeback.

Liverpool gave them hope yesterday by being catastrophically bad. But Liverpool's problems aren't our problems. Our focus is simple: Brentford away on February 11, then the next match, then the next.

The worst thing Arsenal, the club, the players, and especially the fans, can do right now is buy into the media narrative. Because that's exactly what they want. They want us nervous. They want us doubting. They want us looking over our shoulders at City instead of focusing on what's in front of us.

This City team has not looked like champions this season. They've been inconsistent, fragile in second halves, and prone to dropping points in matches they should win. They've lost their aura of invincibility. Yes, they showed character yesterday to come back from 1-0 down. But showing character once doesn't erase months of mediocrity.

For 30 years, I've watched Arsenal navigate title races, triumph and heartbreak, glory and disappointment. I've seen us throw away leads. I've seen us crumble under pressure. But I've also seen us, in moments like this, rise to the occasion. The Invincibles didn't go unbeaten because they listened to pundits tell them they couldn't do it. They did it because they believed in themselves and executed their game plan with ruthless efficiency.

This Arsenal team has that same potential. We have the quality. We have the depth. We have the tactical acumen in Mikel Arteta. What we need now is to ignore the noise, focus on ourselves, and do what we've done all season: take care of business, one match at a time.

One match at a time. Ignore the noise. Trust the process.