Manchester City 'very probably will rival Arsenal' after 5-3 Sunderland rout makes it seven wins in a row
Manchester City have laid down the loudest early marker of the 2026/27 Premier League season, beating Sunderland 5-3 in one of the campaign's most frenetic encounters to make it seven wins in a row in all competitions — and Sky Sports' Laura Hunter is willing to stick her neck out: City will be "right up there" in the title race.
'Too early to tell' — but the evidence is mounting
Asked in his press conference whether he considered City genuine title contenders, head coach Enzo Maresca gave the standard answer: "Too early to tell."
There is a pragmatic truth in that response — five games is a small sample size — but the early evidence suggests Maresca has made this exciting, dynamic squad work for him, partly by design and partly by luck.
"I've seen enough to stick my neck out and say they will be right up there," Hunter wrote. "He's lucky he has Erling Haaland. He's lucky the club believe so heavily in his cause they were willing to spend £320m on an entirely new midfield department. But there is no doubt this squad is packed with entertainers who are determined to win."
The goals are being shared around
Encouragingly for Maresca, the burden of scoring responsibility has been more equally shared this term: both Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki can boast as many goal involvements as Haaland. Combine that with the obvious momentum of seven straight wins in all competitions, and City look like a side built to go the distance.
The caveats
There will be times when City come unstuck, though, because defensively they are fallible. Haaland will suffer his inevitable dip at some point, and injuries will occur — City's most explosive players, Jeremy Doku in particular, are prone to them.
"The Premier League is an ever more demanding beast and City are no longer Pep Guardiola's possession-based puppets," Hunter added. "But this is a team that will also get better with time."
Maresca can now use the next three weeks — with the international break upon us — to polish the bits he doesn't like, ready to go again. Barring any major injuries, City can — and very probably will — rival Arsenal in the race.