Pep Guardiola has admitted that the Premier League title race is “over” should Manchester City not beat West Ham on Saturday.
City take on the Irons at the London Stadium this evening as they sit seven points adrift of Arsenal in the table.
Guardiola’s side do have a game in hand on the league leaders, but they lost ground in the title race after their 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest, which Arsenal capitalised on with a 1-0 win at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Arsenal can move 10 points clear at the summit - at least for the sake of a couple hours - on Saturday should they beat Everton at the Emirates Stadium in the 5.30pm GMT kick off.
City’s match with West Ham begins at 8pm GMT.
City suffered a humbling 3-0 defeat against Real Madrid in midweek in the Champions League, while Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time penalty salvaged a 1-1 draw for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal at Bayer Leverkusen.
Guardiola recognises the importance of City’s trip to east London this evening, and knows that it is win or bust if his side are to stand any chance of denying the Gunners a first league title since 2003.
"Now it's West Ham that defines the Premier League," Guardiola said.
"The league is the most difficult title. I believe it's the most difficult one.
"Now we go there knowing that if we drop points, it will be over.
City host Real in their Champions League last-16 second leg on Tuesday before they meet Arsenal at Wembley Stadium for the Carabao Cup final next weekend.
They then take on Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals before league encounters with Chelsea and Arsenal.
