Wayne Rooney warned Arsenal that Manchester City’s resilient win at Liverpool could prove “deflating” for the Gunners’ title momentum if they focus too heavily on their rivals’ results.
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has cautioned Arsenal’s squad against the psychological exhaustion of monitoring Manchester City’s title charge.
Following City’s dramatic 2-1 comeback win at Anfield, which narrowed Arsenal’s lead to six points, Rooney suggested that witnessing a rival’s late victory can drain a leader’s focus. He noted that a City loss would have left them nine points adrift, a gap rarely recovered at this stage.
Drawing from his own title-winning experience, Rooney urged Mikel Arteta’s players to avoid wasting energy hoping for rival errors.
Rooney stated: “Having been there, it is very difficult to do that because the Arsenal players would have been watching that game at home and thinking Man City are slipping up here. It would have been deflating, and you can waste a lot of energy hoping your rivals are going to slip up.”