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Pep Guardiola questioned whether it was only a two-horse Premier League title race, but his <\/b>Manchester City<\/b><\/a> side can ill-afford many slip-ups in their quest to hunt down leaders <\/b>Arsenal<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n Mikel Arteta’s Gunners have struck the latest blow in this cat and mouse chase, four points clear at the summit following City’s frustrating goalless draw at Sunderland<\/a> on Thursday night.<\/p>\n City dropped points as the temperature at the Stadium of Light almost hit freezing on the first day of 2026.<\/p>\n And Arsenal<\/a> will need to maintain their cool if they are to claim their first top-flight crown in over two decades.<\/p>\n City had 67% possession and 14 shots in the North East, but were unable to break down a stubborn Sunderland<\/a> defence who claimed a well-earned point.<\/p>\n “Two different halves,” said City captain Bernardo Silva after the game. “In the first half we didn’t play that well. We didn’t control the counter as well as we should.<\/p>\n “We attacked a bit too quick – we didn’t move them to find spaces. Second half we had a lot more chances and today was one of those days we couldn’t finish them. <\/p>\n “We are not happy because we wanted better than this.”<\/p>\n As goalless draws go, this was an thoroughly entertaining one with both teams having chances to claim all three points.<\/p>\n The home fans grew in confidence as the match wore on but City could not find the key to unlock the defence as Sunderland<\/a> maintained their impressive unbeaten record at home this season.<\/p>\n “If you look at Sunderland<\/a>‘s home record I think it’s a point well-earned,” former Manchester City<\/a> defender Steph Houghton said on BBC Match of the Day.<\/p>\n “They [City] will overall be disappointed because of the chances they created but if you look at the likes of Arsenal<\/a> and Aston Villa<\/a>, to go there and get a point, we are half way through the season, there is a long, long way to go.”<\/p>\n Just like Arsenal in November,<\/a> City could not beat the Black Cats.<\/p>\n