Why Man City crisis is good news for Arsenal... in more ways than one

The consequences of Manchester City’s alleged breaches of the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play regulations could, in time, be seismic.

The Premier League announced on Monday that City had allegedly breached more than 100 rules following a four-year investigation and they are now facing the threat of potentially huge sanctions, including relegation.

While other top-flight clubs are said to want an outcome before the end of the campaign, any Arsenal fans, for example, expecting a speedy resolution and perhaps an immediate points reduction are set to be disappointed.

The process could drag on beyond the summer, with both sides able to appeal the final outcome. That said, Premier League rules mean City cannot take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as they did when they were banned from the Champions League for two years by UEFA for breaching their FFP rules.

Short-term, Monday’s news only adds to the sense of unease around City’s season and should be welcomed by their immediate rivals, many of whom will, presumably, be hoping for the severest possible punishment.

Pep Guardiola, the City head coach, now faces navigating the rest of the season with the club bordering on crisis — a colossal off-field distraction to go with his side’s mounting on-field issues. Guardiola, who only on Friday referenced the pressure applied by City’s rivals in the UEFA case, could seek to use the news to foster a siege mentality in his squad, but there is every chance it will loom over their attempts to retain the title.

If the Catalan needs any advice on how to deal with the situation, he could seek out Thomas Tuchel, who was forced to lead Chelsea through the second half of last season amid Government sanctions on the club and former owner Roman Abramovich.

The situations are broadly comparable, because there was so much speculation about Chelsea’s continued existence as a super-club, leading players to question their future and the team’s form to spiral in the run-in.

The same could feasibly happen to City, given that the independent commission, established by the Premier League to investigate the breaches, has the power to hand out the punishment it sees fit, which will naturally alarm City’s squad, as well as their fans.

In the immediate term, City’s situation is surely good news for Arsenal, who remain five points clear of the champions at the top of the table, despite both suffering 1-0 defeats at the weekend.

City’s 1-0 loss at Tottenham, their fifth reverse in a row at Spurs’s new stadium, does not necessarily point to major problems in isolation, given Guardiola’s side suffered the same fate in north London en route to record points hauls.

But, clearly, something is not right with City’s play. Erling Haaland will surely win the Golden Boot, but has made the side less fluid, while Guardiola’s decisions have been odd of late.

Not starting Kevin De Bruyne against Spurs felt costly, while the decision to allow Joao Cancelo to join Bayern Munich on loan last month also appeared increasingly strange on Sunday, when teenager Rico Lewis made the mistake for Harry Kane’s winner and endured a tough afternoon.

City reeled in Champions League-winning Liverpool from a similar position in 2018-19, but they do not currently look capable of putting together the kind of run needed to overhaul the Gunners — assuming Mikel Arteta’s side do not collapse themselves.

Now, though, all of City’s on-field concerns appear trifling in comparison to the existential threat hanging over the club from the Premier League, leaving Guardiola and the squad in a position of unprecedented uncertainty.