City are also more likeable to me, but they can also lose points, especially since they have done it very often this season, so Arsenal's chances look better at this stage. 8 points is a very significant advantage, and yes, City can reduce it to 5 points, since Arsenal played one game more, but this game still needs to be won. Newcastle are likely to move Tottenham from 4th place, the difference is only two points and Newcastle have two games in hand.
Manchester city is a top club in the premier league high profile players. Pep Guardiola is an experience coach and knows exactly what to do to catch-up with Mikel Arteta. 8 points is a significant gap on the league table, but arsenal needs to be extrem careful not to make any slight mistakes in their league games, because city are ever ready to drive up to them and surpassed them on the table if anything goes wrong. Newcastle is currently not in their best peak at the moment, the same thing applies to Tottenham Hotspur who are battling with average clubs for points.