This may well go down as the decisive weekend in another title for Manchester City, after Liverpool and Arsenal lost at home to leave the holders in control of their own destiny.

A three-way showdown for the title is now in danger of becoming another City stroll, even if Pep Guardiola’s side only have a two-point lead at the top.

The psychological impact of Sunday’s power shift is likely to be far more significant than the points gap, however, and Arsenal and Liverpool will suddenly feel cut adrift and heavy-legged, such is the aura of inevitability about City when they get their noses in front.

The Treble winners know how to finish the job from here; they have the experience of five titles in the past six seasons, and few would bet big on them dropping points in their remaining six league games.

Arsenal and Liverpool, by contrast, buckled when the pressure was really on, neither able to respond to City’s 5-1 drubbing of Luton nor recover fully from draining midweek assignments in Europe.

Liverpool lost 1-0 against Crystal Palace, while Arsenal were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa, late goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins earning Unai Emery another hugely impressive win over his former club.

This is, perhaps, the difference at the very top. City are usually at their most disjointed and error-prone in the early running, but grow in poise in tandem with the mounting pressure, just as their rivals generally begin to wilt.

It is far from over yet, of course, and Guardiola has pointed out that his side are still in three competitions, giving Arsenal and Liverpool an edge — but City have the easiest run-in on paper.

In a strange twist, Arsenal’s best hope of a City stumble probably rests with their bitter north London rivals, who face Guardiola’s side in their penultimate game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the champions have never won in the Premier League.

For Mikel Arteta and his players, the immediate challenge is ensuring Arsenal’s season does not unravel in the space of a few weeks, as it did at a similar point last term, when they went four league games without a victory.

Arteta claimed Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final decider at Bayern Munich “couldn’t come in a better moment” and, sure enough, it is an opportunity for his side to respond with a statement win, which would restore belief.

Arsenal play twice in the league before City’s next game, giving them a chance to heap the pressure back onto Guardiola’s side.

Alarmingly, though, mistakes have crept into Arsenal’s game as the stakes have risen, and Villa were thoroughly deserving of a win which boosted their hopes of a top-four finish and a return to competing for the European Cup.

Gabriel Magalhaes, who was loose for both Bayern’s goals in the first leg, was again out of sorts and lucky that Watkins’s effort struck the post after the Brazilian had booted a pass into team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Gabriel was one of a handful of static Arsenal players who failed to deal with Lucas Digne’s cross for Bailey to finish at the far post with six minutes to play.

Villa had two days’ less rest than Arsenal after their Europa League win over Lille, but looked fresher and more powerful, underlined when Watkins raced away from Emile Smith Rowe, held off the substitute and finished with a sublime dink.

Villa were outstanding, playing out from the back with bravery and committing to a high defensive line, yet restricting Arsenal to only half-chances after the interval.

Arsenal could not live with Villa’s increased energy in the second half, and the result goes down as another significant victory for Emery over Arteta, following his side’s 1-0 home win in December and Villarreal’s triumph in the Europa League knockouts in 2021.

Arteta is not immune from the pressure and there was a case that the manager got his team selection wrong, with Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Zinchenko failing to justify their inclusions in a changed XI, and substitutes Jorginho and Smith Rowe at fault for the second goal.

Throughout the campaign, there have been indications that Arsenal are a different beast this season; a little less exhilarating, perhaps, but more ruthless and made of tougher stuff.

As Arteta said afterwards, now is the time for his players to prove it by ensuring their bids for the title and the Champions League remain alive.