Alan Shearer makes Premier League title prediction after Man City drop points and Arsenal win

Alan Shearer has backed Arsenal to see off title rivals Manchester City and become Premier League champions for the first time in almost 20 years after another dramatic weekend at the top of the table.

The Gunners currently sit at the top of the division, two points above second-place Manchester City following Saturday’s results.

Mikel Arteta’s side returned to winning ways with a 4-2 victory over Aston Villa, while City dropped points as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal’s win took them back to the top of the Premier League but a Manchester City victory at Nottingham Forest later in the day would have reverted the positions.

Pep Guardiola’s side dominated at the City Ground and took the lead on the stroke of half-time through a superb Bernardo Silva strike.

Manchester City wasted numerous chances to put the game to bed before Nottingham Forest substitute Chris Wood finished off a well-worked goal to earn the hosts a point.

Asked for his prediction on the Premier League title race, Shearer said on BBC’s Match of the Day: ‘I know Thomas Partey is out injury at the moment, but if Arsenal can get him back and then have a little bit of luck between now and the end of the season with keeping their key players fit, I think they will do it, I really do.

‘Based on the second-half, Arsenal deserved the three points today. But they didn’t just get the win, they sent a message out to Manchester City too.

‘Sometimes you just need to find a way to win and they did that in the second-half.

‘When you look back at the game against Man City [Arsenal lost 3-1], they made two huge errors and got punished for them. They missed some big chances as well and that was the difference between the teams.’

Arsenal were trailing at one point in the game at Villa Park as Ollie Watkins and Phillipe Coutinho gave Villa the lead heading into the half-time break. But the Gunners came flying out of the blocks at the start of the second period and found an equaliser when Oleksandr Zinchenk struck from range.

That sparked an onslaught of pressure from the Gunners, who, in truth, should’ve scored before the late winner as Martin Odegaard, Gabriel and Eddie Nketiah all missed guilt-edge chances. And the Gunners were due a piece of good fortune when Jorginho’s long-range strike hit the woodwork, before bouncing off Martinez’s head and into the net.

Then after a Villa corner, Arsenal wrapped up the points on the counter-attack after Martinez went up and left the goal gaping. Martinelli ran through on goal and tapped the ball into an empty net to secure all three points for the Gunners after going three matches without a win.