Premier League Title Race: Why Data Still Favours Arsenal
Updated July 9, 2026
The narrative in the Premier League title race has flipped heavily toward City since Sunday's 2-1 win at the Etihad, but the numbers tell a more complicated story.
Before diving into the data, here is how perspectives on the title race currently stack up:
Feature | Opta Supercomputer | Betting/Prediction Markets | Author's Verdict |
Title Favorite | Arsenal (73%) | Man City (~62-65%) | Man City |
Primary Logic | Points cushion & "softer" fixture list. | Momentum, game in hand, & recent form. | Arsenal's psychological fatigue & xG slump. |
Key Factor | 5 games left vs. bottom-half sides. | Arsenal's 3 losses in last 5 matches. | City's big-game experience (Guardiola factor) & current form. |
Critical Stat | Arsenal are 3 points clear. | City priced at -164 (strong favorites). | Arsenal's 0.19 open play xG vs. Bournemouth. |
The Opta supercomputer isn't buying the prevailing mood. Even after City's win, it still rates Arsenal's title chances at 73%, down from 85.2% before kick-off but a clear majority nonetheless. It's not hard to see why. Arsenal are still three points clear, and City's game in hand only matters if they win it. They may need to win every game from here, and that's far from guaranteed in a Premier League run-in.
Fixture difficulty is the other thing the model is picking up on. According to the Opta Power Rankings, Arsenal have the easier run-in, with their last five games all coming against sides currently in the bottom half. City face Everton, Bournemouth, and Aston Villa, three clubs still scrapping for European qualification with plenty to play for. If both teams win everything, Arsenal's softer schedule gives them more chances to score goals and potentially take the title on goal difference.
The data says Arsenal still control their own destiny. They just need to hold their nerve.
The markets have moved decisively toward City. Most major sportsbooks now price them as title favourites at around -164, with Arsenal pushed to the underdog side of the line. That's a big shift from even a week ago, when the Gunners were heavy favourites at virtually every book.
The implied probability at -164 puts City's chances at roughly 62%, almost a direct inversion of what the Opta model is showing. The books are pricing momentum and City's game in hand heavily, and they're also pricing in Arsenal's recent collapse in form. Arteta's side have lost three of their last five in all competitions when the stakes have been highest.
Prediction markets have swung hard toward City. On Polymarket and similar platforms, City are now trading at roughly 60-65% to win the title, a dramatic move from earlier in the season when Arsenal were sitting above 80%. These markets tend to track sharp money and crowd wisdom simultaneously, and right now both are pointing the same direction.
The shift started before Sunday's game and accelerated sharply after the final whistle. Arsenal's contracts have been bleeding value for three weeks. Whatever the Opta model says about fixtures and points cushions, the people putting money on outcomes have largely made up their minds.
The Opta model is doing exactly what it's built to do, running the numbers dispassionately and weighting Arsenal's points cushion and fixture list correctly. However, while I would usually lean on the side of data over emotion, I am going against the computers here.
Football isn't run on 10,000 simulations, and what I've watched over the last four weeks doesn't look like a team about to grind out five consecutive wins against mid-table opposition. Arsenal's open play xG against Bournemouth was 0.19, the second lowest recorded in a home Premier League match in their entire data history.
Despite a much-improved performance at the Etihad, Havertz headed over from six yards in stoppage time when the title was effectively on his forehead. These aren't the kind of moments you shake off in a week. Ultimately, the past few weeks has proved what many already suspected about The Gunners. Their mentality is frail, and they cannot deliver when it matters the most.
City look like a juggernaut right now. Rayan Cherki is arguably the best player in the league, and has given the Cityzens the maverick edge they have been missing since Jack Grealish fell out of favour at the Etihad. Erling Haaland has started scoring consistently again after a mid-season dip. Bernardo Silva is playing like his life depends on winning one last Premier League title with City before his summer departure, while Antoine Semenyo has provided the direct outlet on the right wing they had been missing until he joined the club in January.
They have dispatched Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in the past month, and look to be going on 'one of those' late season title surges they have become know for. Arsenal meanwhile, have labored under pressure, with their insipid performance against Bournemouth looking like a title defining one.
The model says 73% Arsenal. I say City win enough of their remaining games while Arsenal drop points somewhere they shouldn't. It's happened twice already this season. I don't think they're done wobbling.
City to win the Premier League title.
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