Manchester City have been dealt a Premier League title truth courtesy of rivals Arsenal. The Gunners were in action on Tuesday evening against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium with the chance to extend their gap at the top before Man City and Liverpool play later this week.

Leandro Trossard calmed any nerves after just four minutes as he powered home an effort past Dorde Petrovic at his near post. Arsenal missed a handful of chances in the remainder of the half but they were not made to pay for their profligacy with the hosts much more clinical in the second half.

Ben White doubled his side's advantage before Kai Havertz netted a quick-fire brace against his former club with White on target again to make it 5-0 after 70 minutes. The three points took Mikel Arteta's side onto a tally of 77, three above Liverpool before they face Everton and four away from Man City prior to their clash against Brighton.

However, it is a number in a different category that is intriguing and Arsenal's significantly increased as a result of Wednesday's dominant win. Having bagged another five goals without conceding, the Gunners' goal difference now stands at 56 with Man City and Liverpool way behind on 44 and 43 respectively.

Given how tight this season's title race has been, it is certainly possible that goal difference could decide where the silverware heads and if that ends up being the case, the advantage is clearly with Arsenal. Making up a margin of at least 12 would be quite the challenge for the reigning champions especially in such a short space of time.

In terms of upcoming fixtures following the midweek action, Arsenal must face Tottenham in a North London Derby with Liverpool and Man City still to play Ange Postecoglou's side. As far as other challenging games go, Liverpool must head to Villa Park in the coming weeks to take on Unai Emery's Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, City have challenging trips away to Fulham and Nottingham Forest along with Thursday's clash against Brighton. Despite the goals advantage, if Pep Guardiola's beat Brighton, the title race will be back in their hands as they have an extra game to play and if maximum points are picked up, they will then be two above Arsenal.