Defeat to Arsenal Will Dimish Chances: City Boss Roberto Mancini

Manchester City boss feels that his team's hopes of securing this season's Premier League title will be over if City lose against Arsenal and their rivals Manchester United beat QPR, according to a Sun report.

However, Mancini says that he will still be proud of his boys for coming very close.

"I can say that I am proud of what the players have done in this championship. We were on top for a long time, we have fought with Manchester United until now and I think we have improved as a team in the Premier League," The Sun quoted Mancini as saying.

"We also got 10 points in the Champions League which is normally enough to qualify. Maybe we made some mistakes in the Europa League, but I think we have improved a lot as a team," he added.

The Citizens, who won the FA Cup and finished third in the Premier League last season, were at the top of the Premier League table this season from October up until just recently, when a bad couple of results saw the Red Devils, (who are currently leading by five points) overtake City.

Now at this stage of the season, it is either do or die for the Citizens, who will be heading towards a very difficult tie against the in-form Gunners.

"If we lose at Arsenal and United beat QPR, then yes, it is over. But I believe this championship is not finished yet. It is possible United can drop points. If they win all their games, then congratulations, because they deserve to win the title. But seven games from the end, anything can happen," he added.

We have lost four points in two games. It is possible that can happen to them, too. We have the derby to play which we can get three points from," he further added.

Mancini also believes that City, in spite of having a late comeback, did not put up a very good performance during their 3-3 draw against Sunderland, which saw them end their 100 per cent success record at the Etihad.

"We didn't play very well against Sunderland - we were so flat in the first half. But we still had 25 goal attempts and enjoyed 65 per cent possession. Sunderland had three shots and scored three goals," he said, according to the Sun.

"We made some mistakes in the defensive phases of the game and I also think we were unlucky. But we can't dwell on that now," he added.