Paul Merson believes Manchester City's Premier League title hopes hinge on their performance against Burnley this Wednesday. After Sunday's 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola's side trail the Gunners by just three points with a game in hand, but sit level on goal difference at +36.

Merson argues that anything less than a convincing win over the second-bottom Clarets won't be enough to establish City's dominance. 'It comes down to how much Man City beat Burnley by,' the Sky Sports pundit wrote, suggesting that anything under a four or five-goal margin would leave the door open for Arsenal. The Gunners have two matches before City's next fixture and must capitalize on this opportunity.

Looking ahead, City face Everton and Brentford in their next two games - teams fighting for European spots - making those fixtures less predictable than they might appear. Merson also criticized Gabriel Martinelli for failing to track Nico O'Reilly's run that led to City's winner, emphasizing that such defensive lapses cannot be tolerated at this level of competition.