Gary Lineker forced to change tune on Arsenal as Micah Richards puts him on the spot

• 

• Arsenal
• Arsenal News
• Gary Lineker

Arsenal are struggling at the wrong time with Manchester City now breathing down their necks ahead of Sunday's crunch meeting between the two Premier League title rivals

Gary Lineker now believes Manchester City will win the Premier League title over Arsenal this season after being put on the spot by Micah Richards. Mikel Arteta's side are struggling having suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth on Saturday.

Gunners fans will have hoped that Tuesday's 1-0 win at Sporting in the Champions League would have sparked them into life. That win followed disappointing defeats in the Carabao Cup final to City and FA Cup at Championship side Southampton.

But Arsenal appeared to freeze against Andoni Iraola's team and were outplayed against the 11th-placed Cherries. Goals from Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott, either side of a Viktor Gyokeres penalty, put a serious dent in their ambitions of winning a first Premier League title since 2004.

And the Gunners' defeat was compounded by second-placed City winning 3-0 at Chelsea on Sunday - just a week before they meet Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola's side are now just six points behind Arteta's side, with a game in hand over them.

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

The contrasting form of both City and Arsenal has now led football broadcaster Lineker to tell The Rest is Football that he thinks Guardiola's team will come out on top, having backed Arsenal for much of the campaign.

When asked by pundit Richards for his thoughts on the title race, he said: "I've always thought, 'Well Arsenal will be fine, they're not going to choke, they'll be all right.'

"But since he's changed back to the three at the top, and the way Arsenal are stuttering and have lost their form at the moment.

"You know how important momentum is in not just football, in all sport. Momentum is so important, and all the momentum now is with City.

"So I think it's so tough to call now... but if you need to put your life on the line – which I'd hate to have to do under these circumstances – I'd probably now go City because I think they will win next week, but you never know."

Arsenal face Sporting in the second-leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday before the potential title decider at City. And Arteta has promised an immediate response.

The Spaniard said: "We're going to do it, for sure.

"Because the way we all feel now with the hope and the ambition that we have for this game, we're going to see an immediate reaction, I'm convinced about that."