Arsenal travel to title rivals Manchester City on Wednesday night in what feels like a win-or-bust Premier League title decider. 

After a 3-3 draw with struggling Southampton saw the Gunners drop points for a third successive game, handing City the chance to leapfrog with their games in hand, it feels like only a win will do at the Etihad.

And with Arsenal’s recent slip-ups, even that may not be enough. 

For a while now it felt like April 26 would be the decisive day in the Premier League season and as the game inches nearer, it’s become even more decisive than Arsenal was expecting.

Failure to win would leave City firmly in the driving seat for the run-in.

The reverse fixture in February saw a valiant first-half performance from Arsenal, equalising after falling behind, before losing control and ultimately the game.

It’s vital that Arsenal sustain possession and pressure on Wednesday night, and with William Saliba ruled out due to his back injury, Mikel Arteta needs to find a way to fix Arsenal’s recent build-up issues which have been hampering the team badly in recent weeks. 

Rob Holding has struggled to replicate the decisive, pinpoint passing and calmness of Saliba, while Thomas Partey has been overrun in the last three games, severely restricting Arsenal’s capacity to play out from the back and limiting the opportunities for the forward line to get on the ball.

Whether it’s Jorginho in the middle or finding a way to shift Ben White to centre-back, control will be key to avoid a repeat of the February clash.

Regardless of what happens on Wednesday night, it’s been a fantastic season, beyond what most thought was possible.

But having come this far, challenging in late April, everyone around Arsenal is desperate to keep the dream going. 

If you want to be the best team in the country, you need to beat the best teams in the country.

The Gunners have failed to do that in both the league and the FA Cup so far this season – this would be the perfect time to get the win.