Arsenal have moved to the top of the Premier League after defeating Tottenham on Sunday and are now solid favorites to win the division, despite just 12 games into the season.
Jamie Carragher’s declaration that only Arsenal can cost them the Premier League is not far from reality. Opta’s supercomputer has helped the Gunners emerge as overwhelming favorites to win their first title in more than 20 years.
Mikel Arteta’s side defeated Tottenham in the North London derby, extending their lead at the top of the table to six points. A hat-trick from Ebelesi Eze and a goal from Leandro Trossard put an end to Richarlison’s impressive effort.
Arsenal firmly established their title credentials while gaining bragging rights against their local rivals. Manchester City and reigning champions Liverpool lost to Newcastle and Nottingham Forest respectively.
That convinced Carragher that this could be Arsenal’s year. “The only team that can stop Arsenal from winning the league is Arsenal. They are the best team. They are the best team,” he told Sky Sports.
“The only thing that can stop them is their own head, their own mentality. Maybe this crowd will be nervous in March and April, if the league is still up at that point.”
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“This would be it. If they don’t win, we’re all going to point at them and say, ‘You threw this away.’ I don’t think that’s ever happened before.”
“I always think there were teams in the Premier League that were slightly better than them, but that’s definitely not the case this season.”
According to Opta, Arsenal have a 74.56% chance of winning the title. The next most likely teams are Manchester City (14.3%), Chelsea (3.88%) and Liverpool (2.13%).
Arteta is not getting ahead of himself despite the odds favoring his team, and the Spaniard still does not believe his team’s lead is substantial.
“In this league, there just aren’t that many,” he said. “We’re doing really well, we’re getting really consistent, that’s all.
“So when you look at the results, win or lose, the difference between the scoreline and what actually happens in the game is very small, we know that.
“Today we need to get players back quickly. It’s great to have Noni back on the pitch, but we’re still missing a lot of important players so we’ll need everyone.”
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