Arsenal receives unexpected good news from Manchester City in the Premier League race.

Manchester City confronts a packed fixture list late in the season due to their FA Cup final qualification, posing the threat of three games within six days, greatly affecting the championship battle.

Manchester City is now grappling with an extremely challenging scheduling dilemma in the final two weeks of the campaign, following their qualification for the FA Cup final for the fourth consecutive year.

The Etihad Stadium side (still aiming for a domestic treble) risks having to play up to three matches in just six days unless a suitable rearrangement is found. This stems from their postponed home game against Crystal Palace due to a clash with the EFL Cup final schedule.

The issue becomes more complicated as Crystal Palace is busy playing the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk in the next two weeks. This means the earliest possible rescheduling of the match at Etihad could only be the week starting May 11.

However, the tight schedule makes the most feasible option May 13—just three days before the FA Cup final at Wembley (May 16). Furthermore, Manchester City's away fixture against AFC Bournemouth also needs rescheduling due to a clash with the final date.

The tentative plan is May 20, but this coincides with the UEFA Europa League final, potentially causing issues with UEFA. Therefore, the match is likely to be moved to May 19, meaning Pep Guardiola's squad would have to play three matches in six days.

This grueling schedule could heavily influence the title race in the Premier League, while opening an opportunity for Arsenal to end their 22-year trophy drought.

Previously, Manchester City secured their final spot after a dramatic 2-1 victory over Southampton. The Championship side surprised by opening the scoring with a fine strike from Finn Azaz. However, Manchester City turned the tide with Jeremy Doku's equalizer and Nico Gonzalez's superb winning goal.

After the match, Pep Guardiola praised the "excellent" second-half performance but also highlighted the upcoming challenge: “Now it's six finals. If we win all, we achieve our goal. Just one slip, everything ends. We need rest, both physically and mentally, before entering this high-pressure final stretch.”