Man City defender Aymeric Laporte: 'I hope Arsenal slip in title race'

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte says he is already looking ahead to the potential title decider against Arsenal next week.

The Premier League champions are now four points behind the Gunners after their rivals dropped points for the second consecutive match against West Ham at the weekend. While Laporte claims he has nothing but admiration for their manager Mikel Arteta and what they’ve achieved this campaign, he is hoping they are on the wrong end of the result once again at the Etihad:

“Consistency is very important, and we have been able to achieve that. Mikel Arteta who was here, he knows our style of play very well. He is a fantastic manager; I only have good words to say about him. What we are doing alongside Arsenal right now is fantastic. Although I hope they can slip against us and that we can get the win.”

With Arsenal playing Southampton on Friday, and City not playing this weekend due to the FA Cup, the Gunners could be seven points ahead heading into the match on Wednesday week. With that being the case, it may be better not to look at the Arsenal game as the defining match, as the Citizens would still have to win their two games in hand to move top of the table.

It remains to be seen whether Laporte will actually play in that fixture. The Spanish international has been a bit-part player this campaign and he has been posting cryptic messages in recent weeks suggesting he could leave Manchester this summer. For now, though, it seems he is keenly anticipating the Gunners clash.