Arsenal are now almost certain to retain their Premier League crown

In the midst of the gloom around Manchester City's guilty verdict, a major positive has emerged for Arsenal.

The Citizens have been found guilty of all 115 charges relating to breaches of Premier League regulations between 2009 and 2018. They're expected to have the book thrown at them, with the feeling being that the panel responsible for determining their sanctions are intent on implementing the harshest punishment possible.

While their appeal is expected to be lodged before Friday's deadline, the mood music doesn't look good for City.

Arsenal are the obvious beneficiaries of the potential sanctions that are coming City's way in the long-term, but the short-term impact could be monumental for the Gunners.

Mikel Arteta's men are in an extremely strong position to secure the North London club back-to-back Premier League titles for the very first time.

Arsenal will almost certainly win the Premier League again this season

Before the 2026/27 season began, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United were being talked about as potential title challengers. However, five weeks into the season, none of these pretenders look likely to push Arsenal to the wire.

Liverpool look the most likely, but Andoni Iraola's side are too light offensively to launch a concerted assault on the title. Their attacking metrics so far this season are poor, and while they can certainly improve under their new manager as the season progresses, this year looks like it'll come too soon for them in terms of a title charge.

As for Chelsea, Xabi Alonso's side are a mess defensively, and they were outplayed by the Gunners at the Emirates earlier this month. Jumping from tenth to a title challenge was perhaps an unrealistic expectation.

United already seem to be struggling with the additional fixtures they're having to contend with this term, and Michael Carrick's outfit have a list of existential issues at both ends of the pitch.

That leaves City as the only real contender, and their prospects of winning the title are now clouded by the charges hanging over them. Many may argue that the punishments are unlikely to be implemented before the end of the season, which would mean there's nothing to prevent them from challenging Arsenal.

However, the Premier League are probably eager to stop City from playing out the season unsanctioned, in case Maresca's team were to win the title, which would spark uproar and potentially further lawsuits. Thus, they're likely to accelerate their process of determining the penalties imposed on City before this season is up.

The most likely sanctions at this point, according to most reliable journalists, include a major points deduction or perhaps league expulsion. Both of these outcomes would put City out of contention in the title race.

Thus, it's a very real possibility that Arsenal have a free run at the title this season. An unexpected package could always emerge out of nowhere, while the Gunners could still struggle for whatever reason. However, it looks incredibly likely that they'll retain their crown, which would create history for the North London club in the process.

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