Paul Merson has compared Arsenal’s title bid to getting into a boxing ring with a prime Mike Tyson. The Gunners remain top by a point but Manchester City still have a game in hand.

Arsenal raced into a quick-fire 3-0 lead against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday but were forced to cling on after Spurs clawed back two goals. It ended up being a nervy victory for the Gunners in the North London Derby but helped maintain pressure on their title rivals.

Later in the day, Man City earned a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest to keep Arsenal’s gap to a single point. The Gunners are the only realistic opponent still fighting to deny Man City an unprecedented fourth consecutive league title, leading Arsenal legend Paul Merson to liken their title rivals to heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson.

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“It's all about timings. It doesn't matter: if you're a heavyweight challenger and Mike Tyson's about, you're not winning the world title,” Merson told Sky Sports. “It's just a bit like that. You're bang unlucky, you've got to accept that you're the second best at the time and if they weren't about then I'd have won.

“It's just timings, you know; how many people won the 400m when Michael Johnson was about? Not a lot. That's how it works, it's just timings. They are unlucky, bang unlucky in my opinion."

While Merson may be right in pointing out that the Gunners could be aiming for back-to-back titles in a bygone era, Mikel Arteta’s side will remain quietly confident of ending Man City’s dominance. Whether Arsenal are successful or not, their progress under Arteta was underlined by the fact that the manager reached 100 league wins in 10 fewer games than legendary boss Arsene Wenger.

Speaking about Arteta’s tenure so far, Merson said: “They stayed with him, they were patient. He must have been winning football matches at the time. That is unbelievable - you’re only seven behind Sir Alex Ferguson, [10 behind] Jurgen Klopp who we say is a legend. Phenomenal.”