Nathan Ake has no problem with Manchester City playing the hunter as the Premier League title race with Arsenal heads for a thrilling finale.
City reeled the Gunners back in with a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest where goals from Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland reduced the gap at the top to one point, with a game in hand.
That could be back to four points again by the time Pep Guardiola’s side play Wolves on Saturday evening next as Arsenal are in action earlier in the day against Bournemouth.
Chasing can often increase the pressure, but City know if they win their four remaining games they will be champions for an unprecedented fourth successive season.
“For me it doesn’t matter really,” Ake said. “It’s in our hands so we’re not depending on what they do.
“That’s the difference from last year, we were still depending on what they were doing.
“This season it’s in our hands. We know if we win the next four we are champions. The only thing we have to do is focus on the next one.
🔝 @Arsenal have the points on the board⏰ @ManCity have the game in-hand 😬 @LFC have it all to do
Who comes out on top? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/yeBH3tcVPb
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 28, 2024
“I think everyone’s got the experience but in the end experience doesn’t really make a difference.
“It’s about now, what we do now. At the moment it’s going well but we know what we have to do in the end — win four games and we can be champions again.”
That will be easier said than done for City if their performance at the City Ground is anything to go by as they were reliant on some wayward finishing by Forest – which Guardiola bizarrely accredited to the pitch – to get the three points.
With games against Wolves, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham to come, Netherlands international Ake knows it is not job done yet.
“It’s so close but it’s also so far away,” he said. “I think every game is going to be a tough one.
“It felt like today people expect us to win but it’s never easy these kind of games.
“Next week we have another that will be tough and the only thing we can do is game by game. I know it sounds cliched but it is the only thing I can do.”
Defeat leaves Nottingham Forest deep in the relegation mire, though they could recover some of their deducted points this week when they hear the outcome of their appeal.
Forest’s injury problems worsened as Neco Williams, Murillo and Willy Boly all picked up knocks.
Nuno Espirito Santo said: “Let’s assess them. Neco, Murillo and Boly – we have a lot of things to assess.
“Hopefully it is nothing serious and we can count on them for the next one, because it is important.”