Saha Declares Manchester City Title Favourites After Premier League Drama
The Premier League title race tilted sharply towards Manchester City over one chaotic weekend, and Louis Saha has seen enough.
The former Manchester United and France striker believes Enzo Maresca’s side are now the benchmark, the team everyone else is chasing, after City punished Arsenal’s stumble to open up daylight at the top.
City hit the international break three points clear and brimming with menace after a breathless 5-3 win over Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium. It was the kind of scoreline that flatters the chaos but underlines the control: City scored five, conceded a hat-trick, and still never truly looked like losing their grip on the game.
Eight-goal drama at the Etihad
This was Maresca’s City at full volume.
Antoine Semenyo set the tone, driving the champions forward with a ruthless brace that showcased both his power and timing in the box. Around him, City’s attacking carousel spun at pace. Enzo Fernandez struck. Rayan Cherki added his name to the scoresheet. Erling Haaland, as he so often does, joined the party.
On another day, Brian Brobbey’s stunning hat-trick for Sunderland would have stolen the headlines. He kept dragging the visitors back into the contest, refusing to let the game drift into a routine home win. Each goal asked a question of City’s resolve.
City answered with goals of their own. They bent, but they never broke. By the final whistle, the champions had their statement victory and, more importantly, a significant lead in the title race.
“The strongest one”: Saha’s verdict
Watching it all unfold, Saha was struck by what he sees as a shift in power.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he underlined why he now considers City the clear favourites in this season’s battle at the top.
“I think everyone can say that Arsenal had the best momentum even if they lost it towards the end [of last season],” he said. “I think now City understood their mistakes, even if they still have young players coming through, they have this experience.
“The combination of strength and creativity is enormous in midfield so I do think they are the strongest one. On the bench as well because Jeremy Doku is coming back, it’s frightening.”
Experience. Depth. A midfield that can suffocate or slice teams apart. Saha sees a squad that has learned its lessons and still has weapons to return from injury. That, to him, is the difference.
Arsenal rocked at the Amex
City’s surge came against the backdrop of Arsenal’s worst afternoon of the season.
A day earlier, at a raucous Amex Stadium, Mikel Arteta’s side were taken apart 3-0 by Brighton. For a team that had been riding high and carrying the weight of expectation, it was a brutal jolt.
Pascal Gross struck in the first half to tilt the game Brighton’s way. Charalampos Kostoulas followed, and suddenly Arsenal were not just behind; they were reeling, outplayed and outmuscled in key areas.
The second half offered a chance for a response, a reset. Instead, any flicker of hope was extinguished on the hour. Chema Andres rose to head home Brighton’s third, killing the contest and turning the final half-hour into damage limitation for the visitors.
For Arsenal, it was more than just a defeat. It was the kind of comprehensive loss that lingers through an international break, the kind that invites questions about resilience and nerve.
Break in play, no break in pressure
The calendar now hands both contenders a pause, but not a release.
Arsenal will use the international break to search for answers and to steady the mood. When they return in three weeks’ time, they face Leeds in a game that already feels unforgiving. They know what’s at stake. Another slip, another soft performance, and City’s lead could stretch beyond reach.
City, meanwhile, must prove that this surge is sustainable. Maresca’s men face a trip to Anfield next, a fixture that always tests title credentials and temperament. They go there defending a perfect away record, a statistic that sounds impressive but will be examined under the heaviest pressure.
Saha has nailed his colours to the mast. City, in his eyes, are the strongest side in the league, with the deepest bench and the most complete midfield.
The question now is simple: can Arsenal turn that verdict on its head, or has this weekend marked the moment the title race truly tilted sky blue?
