Jamie Redknapp has declared the Premier League title race effectively concluded following Manchester City’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham.

Manchester City, together with Aston Villa, have been the main contenders against Arsenal in this season’s title pursuit. However, City’s stumble allowed Arsenal to widen their lead to six points after their victory over Leeds on Saturday.

In another twist, Aston Villa, despite having a numerical advantage for much of their match against a ten-man Brentford, suffered a 1-0 defeat, pushing them seven points adrift of Arsenal.

Redknapp, the former manager of Liverpool and Tottenham, expressed his certainty on Sky Sports that the title race is now beyond doubt, even though each team still has 14 matches left in the season.

He commented, “Mikel Arteta must have been watching the games with confidence, expecting Villa to overcome Brentford, which they didn’t. Then, seeing the second half of Tottenham vs. Man City, he would have anticipated a decisive City win. Tonight, he’ll probably celebrate with a fine bottle of Rioja.”

Arsenal already have the Premier League title secured after this weekend, according to Jamie Redknapp

Redknapp (pictured) has insisted the Gunners can go on and win the league by up to 10 points

“This is the moment,” Redknapp continued. “I believe Arsenal will now clinch the title, possibly with a margin of eight to ten points. It would be astonishing if they didn’t.”

‘They have got the players… I think they had been getting a little bit anxious, the crowd… the connection between the two of them. The manager gets a little bit uptight and I think that transmits to the players. But I think now, they can start to relax a bit and I would be amazed if they didn’t go on and win this title comfortably now.’

A number of teams are starting to struggle with injuries after so many games in quick succession, with the likes of Ollie Watkins, John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara missing Villa’s defeat by Brentford.

City, meanwhile, have seen their defence decimated, with players such as John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol all currently out.

And though Arsenal have been dealt their own injuries this season, they have got the squad depth to deal with it. Players such as Gabriel Jesus and Piero Hincapie have stepped up in recent times, while Noni Madueke shone in the Leeds win having only replaced Bukayo Saka after the winger picked up an injury in the warm-up.

It’s taken a number of transfer windows to build the side, but the Gunners are now reaping the rewards as the final straight of the title run-in approaches. 

‘They have got the best squad,’ Redknapp continued. ‘They have the best players and nobody is really strong enough to compete.

‘Villa are doing incredible things. Absolutely amazing what they are achieving, but they are running out of steam with injuries, and Manchester City’s form just isn’t strong enough. They aren’t capable of going on an 18, 19 game run like they did a few years ago.’

He added that Gunners Mikel Arteta (pictured) will be ‘opening an nice bottle of rioja tonight

The claim also comes after Manchester City dropped two points in their draw with Tottenham

Next up for the Gunners in the league is Sunderland at home next weekend, but they will first take on Chelsea in the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals on Tuesday.

They lead 3-2 going into the second leg, and are heavy favourites to reach the final of that competition too. That comes after they booked their place in the last-16 of the Champions League, with the Gunners still competing on four fronts.

‘The mentality is good,’ Arteta said after the Leeds win. ‘And to play with that level of enjoyment about where we are, and then with the conviction to believe in what we do and how good we are, and that we can beat any opponent… we certainly have done that.

‘But then you have to show the quality as well in this league to do it, and it came out in great ways from different players as well.’