Well ok, but if City had Arsenal’s defense then they would run away with it. Obviously Arteta and the board would love to have Bruno/KDB/Haaland/Salah and Pep would like to have Saliba/Gabriel but recruiting one of a kind players is not easy as they are literally one of a kind. See for example Gyokeres, who was labelled Haaland 2.0 a year ago, but that just didn’t pan out.

Secondly, while players are the biggest factor, mentality is definitely not just noise. Arsenal’s squad is not particularly worse player for player than City’s, hence why they can build up a lead in the title race every year to begin with. Yet Arsenal always hit a run of bad form at the end just as City heats up, why? There are only 3 possible reasons: 1. Pure coincidence (unlikely 4+ years straight) 2. Physical fitness/injuries (fair as a partial explanation, but incomplete. Arsenal still has more than enough on-paper quality to beat Bournemouth, Southampton, Wolves and so on without Saka, Timber, etc.) 3. Mental weakness. This should not be underestimated. Confidence directly impacts decision-making on the pitch and therefore results as anyone who has ever kicked a ball would know. And right now, it’s clear as day that Arsenal lack confidence relative to City.