Manchester City thrashed Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday and now face a monumental clash with Premier League title rivals Arsenal this coming weekend

Manchester City’s scintillating second half showing at Stamford Bridge has piled the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League ahead of a seismic showdown at the Etihad.

The Gunners were beaten 2-1 by Bournemouth on Saturday lunchtime and City responded by beating Chelsea 3-0 with all the goals coming after the break.

The result leaves Pep Guardiola’s side six points adrift of Arsenal but with a game in hand ahead of the title showdown on Sunday while the margin of victory at Stamford Bridge trimmed the Gunners’ goal difference advantage to three.

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Arsenal have lost their last three domestic games in three different competitions to see their chances of silverware in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup ended. They remain in the Champions League and host Sporting Lisbon this week a goal ahead from the first leg in Portugal.

And while Mikel Arteta’s side know a draw will keep City at bay and a win will surely knock the Blues out of the title race, the momentum seems to have shift in City’s favour.

Jeremy Doku, who scored his first goal since November in the win over City, believes the Arsenal clash will be title defining.

“I think so,” he said. “If you win this game, it is a big punch towards them. If you lose, it’s in their hands and we have to wait for them to lose. But if we win, it’s in our hands and I prefer to have it in my hands.

“I believe the race is on. I would be crazy if I didn’t believe. We have a big game now, we’re going to recover well and look forward to it.

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“I watched the Arsenal game and when I saw them lose, I saw that the Premier League is really unpredictable.”

City have a clear week to focus on the visit of Arsenal, while the Gunners have a Champions League date to contend with. And the City players know how crucial the task in front of them is.

“It’s going to be a big game,” said Marc Guehi, another goalscorer at Chelsea. “But the most important thing for us is to recover and focus on training this week.”

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“First of all, recover,” added Doku. “Then just analyse Arsenal again, think about what my task is going to be, look at their weaknesses and strengths and believe that we did it already.

“They will come with hunger. They don’t want to just give it to us so we have to go and take it. Trust me, we’ll be well prepared.”