´No title race is the same´ – Dias says past triumphs over Arsenal are not inspiring Man City

Ruben Dias doesn’t consider Manchester Metropolis can draw inspiration from earlier situations the place they pipped Arsenal to the title, saying every Premier League season is totally different.

Metropolis path the Gunners by 5 factors on the high of the desk forward of Wednesday’s assembly with Nottingham Forest, whereas holding a sport in hand on the leaders.

Pep Guardiola’s aspect, who’ve gained their final 4 Premier League video games, may even face Arsenal on the Etihad Stadium in a possible title decider in April.

With Metropolis hitting type proper at first of the run-in, comparisons have been drawn to their title-winning campaigns in 2022-23 and 2023-24, given Arsenal led the desk for lengthy parts of each seasons.

In 2022-23, Metropolis launched into a run of 14 wins in 15 video games (one draw) between February and Could, whereas in 2023-24, they didn’t lose a sport after December 6 and ended the season with 9 straight wins to clinch the trophy on the ultimate day.

However when requested if historical past was repeating itself, Dias advised TNT Sports activities: “I really feel like no title race is similar. Yearly, there’s a brand new problem; there’s a brand new opponent.

“Even when it’s the identical opponent, there are other ways to go previous it. As such, each one is a brand new one, so we’re centered on Nottingham Forest.”

Straight again into @premierleague motion!

#AsahiSuperDry pic.twitter.com/daI5CA1465

— Manchester Metropolis (@ManCity) March 2, 2026

Metropolis’s title rivals Arsenal have attracted stern criticism over a perceived reliance on set-pieces lately, having tied the document for essentially the most objectives from corners in a Premier League season (16).

Critics have additionally urged the Gunners sluggish the sport down at restarts and are overly bodily for lifeless balls, however Dias says it’s as much as their rivals to adapt.

“The sport is all the time altering,” he mentioned. “From set-pieces to defending, attacking, or no matter. You simply adapt to no matter is coming at you.

“Particularly within the place during which you need to win, win, win and win. You simply adapt and don’t speak a lot about it.”

4:18 – Arsenal have the longest time delays earlier than taking corners within the Premier League this season, over 2 hours in complete, averaging 4 minutes 18 seconds per match. Delay. https://t.co/4yoZOKYTvD

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 3, 2026

A distant third-placed end in 2024-25 led Metropolis to finish a dramatic overhaul of their squad, with stalwarts Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker, Ederson amongst their big-name departures.

Metropolis added Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi to their ranks in January, having already acquired the likes of Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki and Gianluigi Donnarumma in the summertime switch window.

And Dias is assured they’re higher off after going by that interval of transition.

“It was a troublesome season, for positive,” he added. “Largely as a result of we weren’t wonderful and, usually, wonderful is all we do round right here.

“However it was positively one we may be taught from loads, enhance loads. Additionally, it’s very well-known that it was a powerful interval of transition.

“We nonetheless managed to get to the ultimate of the FA Cup. We made an excellent push on the finish of the season for these Champions League spots, which was crucial for us and the membership.”