The 2025-26 season has been a roller coaster for Manchester City as they started the season badly, but then went on a crazy 8-match winning streak to close the gap to just 4 points.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side have drawn their last 3 league games, which has left them 6 points behind Arsenal.
Amid the mid-season blues, the Manchester side is looking for inspiration from anywhere they can and they’ve turned to an X user’s inspirational message.
After the 1-1 draw against Chelsea, Manchester City fan Geronimo Morgans posted a heartfelt message on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that the gap should ignite the side, push them to their limit, and adapt, as a means to motivate players.
Where do we go from here?
— Geronimo Morgans (@GeronimoMorgans) January 4, 2026
Where do we go from being six points behind?
Where do we go from back-to-back draws where we had chances to kill the game?
Where do we go from Gvardiol’s injury?
Where do we go from Nico González’s injury?
Where do we go from complacency?
Where do we go… pic.twitter.com/GhIUoIwom1
Before the match against Brighton, Erling Haaland posted a photo with former UFC superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov. Eagle-eyed fans noticed the monitor in the background had an inspirational message that felt very familiar.
Fans quickly put 2 and 2 together and found out that this was a tweet that had gone viral a day earlier and that Manchester City was using it as inspiration before their match against Brighton.
Not only did Manchester City draw 1-1 against Brighton, but a simple AI check showed this was a completely AI-generated message from tools like ChatGPT, displaying 100% AI in the AI checker results.
Arsenal fans were quick to mock their title rivals, not just for the attempt to inspire the players but also for using an AI message to do it.
They also used this episode as an opportunity to question Manchester City’s mentality and called out City’s “last-ditch effort for inspiration”.
Fans claimed that the draws have knocked them out of the title race as they are rattled and don’t have the winning mentality of previous squads.
City took some random bloke’s meltdown tweet and screenshotted it as a last ditch attempt for inspiration.
— Haroun Hickman (@HarounHickman) January 6, 2026
They’re absolutely gone psychologically. https://t.co/QY41kglsDY pic.twitter.com/070pS8A9Lu
In their last two draws, Manchester City scored first and were cruising, but didn’t kill the game, and then conceded to draw. This has brought Man City’s “killer mentality” into question.
For instance, Manchester City conceded a completely avoidable equalizer in the 4th minute of injury time against Chelsea as Enzo poked in a clumsy effort after City’s defense wasn’t able to clear a low cross.
Similarly, they scored a penalty against Brighton in the first half but then struggled to kill the game off, resulting in Mitoma punishing the clumsy Manchester City defense with a clinical shot from outside the box to equalize.
Although Manchester City had more than half an hour to get a winner, they struggled to conjure up clear-cut chances, as the game ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw.
A club once known for hitting 5, 6, 7 Goals past opponents and blitzing them away now struggles to put teams away convincingly and isn’t able to defend their lead.
Moreover, the Gunners also made comparisons to Arteta, who has often been criticized and mocked for his unconventional methods to inspire his side, such as playing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before a game at Anfield or using a Light Bulb to inspire his side and teach them the importance of connection and energy.
Although Arsenal looks to be in the driving seat, the season is far from over. Manchester City often go on their longest winning streaks at the tail end of the season to clinch the titles… something that Arsenal should be familiar with.
Arsenal themselves experienced Manchester City’s mentality two seasons ago when they led the table for 248 days (record for being at the top for the most days without winning) before Manchester City eclipsed them in the end.
Do you think Manchester City could repeat the feat this season? Or is it finally Arsenal’s time after losing at the tail end for the last two seasons? Let us know in the comments section.
