Premier League title race: Manchester City have psychological edge over Arsenal, says Wayne Rooney

Former England captain Wayne Rooney says Manchester City Psychologically, he will “have the lead” in the Premier League title race.

Arsenal, who are nine points clear at the top with two more games to play, travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (16:30 BST).

Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, Manchester United said City “know how to win the title” and “have a manager who knows how to do it”.

Rooney said, “I think City will have an advantage in this regard only with the coach and the players they have. They will be able to stay a little calmer than the Arsenal players.”

“They’re going to be worried because when you go on a run and lose a few games, ‘Where’s the next goal, the next win going to come from?’ you start to think. That negative mindset really has an impact on your performance.”

Manchester City beat Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday, taking advantage of Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Rooney said whoever wins the “championship-deciding” match in Manchester on Saturday will be the favorite to win the league.

He added that he thought a draw would be a “good point” for Arsenal, who may need to “play dirty”.

Rooney added that Mikel Arteta’s side are “tough to break down, make sure there are no gaps between the lines and try to hit them at half-time.”

He added: “Whether the fans like this type of football or not, they need to do everything to stop City winning. They need to be tough enough to stop City scoring goals.”