Man City news: Why there is “no way” Enzo Maresca's side will win Premier League title over Arsenal

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson strongly believes that Premier league leaders Manchester City have "no way" of winning this season’s title if they continue to play as they are.

The Citizens made it seven wins out of seven in all competitions and five victories out of five in the Premier League under new manager Enzo Maresca courtesy of a chaotic 5-3 success over Sunderland on Sunday.

Man City were pushed all the way by a spirited Sunderland outfit who had Brian Brobbey net a hat-trick, but the hosts put the game to bed when Erling Haaland scored a milestone goal nine minutes from time.

Maresca’s men now enter the international break sitting three points clear at the top of the table after reigning champions Arsenal suffered a surprised yet deserved 3-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Despite Man City making a perfect start to their top-flight campaign, Merson still cannot envisage the Sky Blues lifting the title if they continue to show defensive vulnerabilities.

This comes after Merson stated prior to the gameweek five fixtures that Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, who boasted the best defensive record last season, will comfortably defend their Premier League crown by “double digits”.

Man City to win Premier League title? “No way”

In his column for Sky Sports, Merson said: “I sat there watching the game thinking, 'if Manchester City put on a show and beat Sunderland convincingly, there could be a big momentum swing’.

“Arsenal had been ripped to shred, fully deserved. I was thinking they'd win the league quite comfortably and not lose too many football matches. Have I got this wrong?

“Then I saw City against Sunderland and go, 'no'. There's no way Manchester City win the league.

“You can't keep scoring loads of goals to win football matches. You can't play that kind of football. Top teams will pick you off.

“Sunderland are not the most high-scoring football team in the country but they scored three goals - and could have scored more.

“Going forward, Manchester City were good but at the back they were all over the place. It just catches up with you, especially against the big boys.

“I remember what Enzo Maresca was like at Chelsea and he won't like that result. He doesn't like chaos. He's not a chaos manager.

“Yes, City did beat Manchester United at Old Trafford with 10 men. But that's not hard is it? City were all over the place 11 versus 11, and United were by far the better team.

“When it went to 10 versus 11, you get to sit back a little, there's not that much pressure on you. If you go two banks of four and leave Erling Haaland up there, that's hard to break down.”

'Too early': Maresca dismisses PL title talk

Maresca, meanwhile, has dismissed title talk at this early stage in the season while also acknowledging that he prefers to see his teams win 1-0 rather than be involved in high-scoring affair.

He told reporters: “It’s much better to win games. In this moment, it’s better to have three points more than less, no doubt, but at the same time, we know that it’s quite early.

“The international break is good. We can review what we have done and what we can do better, and at the same time, we can relax a little more.

“I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3, but I expected a very difficult game – I knew how good they are, off the ball, very aggressive. I knew it was a difficult game, but happy because we found a way to win the game.”

Man City will return to Premier League action on October 11 when they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool, before concluding the month with top-flight matches against Ipswich Town, Aston Villa and Brighton.