Arsenal sit top of the Premier League with a commanding lead over title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, but Mikel Arteta has been warned about one side.
Arsenal have been warned that Manchester City pose a major threat to their Premier League title ambitions despite their current position in the table. City are six points behind Mikel Arteta’s side, but former Premier League manager Alan Pardew believes they still pose a bigger threat than Liverpool.
Arsenal secured their place at the top of the table with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at the weekend. Liverpool lost 3-2 at Brentford, their fourth consecutive league defeat, while City lost 1-0 at Aston Villa, leaving Bournemouth as the Gunners’ most likely challengers, leaving them in second place with a four-point difference.
Liverpool are the defending champions, but Arne Slott is currently dealing with a number of issues and with a seven point difference, City are favorites to win the title. Pardew said Guardiola masterminded six titles in his nine years at the club and should not be ignored.
“It was a strange result,” Pardew told talkSPORT of Villa’s win. “I don’t know if Man City felt the impact of the midweek game (2-0 win against Villarreal in the Champions League), but I really thought it was a bit of a blow.
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“Mikel Arteta and Arsenal would have watched that game and thought, ‘What a result.’ You can’t help but be afraid of Man City’s challenge. Even if they lose at Aston Villa, I think they have a big challenge, I really do.
“The only concern is that they will be too dependent on Haaland. Haaland is doing really well, but they will still need other players on the pitch. In the previous Man City team, they would have had some players who really contributed, but will they have enough people around Haaland to win the title?”
“They need someone to step up to bat and help Haaland. There’s so much potential in that team, but Pep needs to see it on the pitch.”
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Guardiola himself has not given up, as he has seen how the situation changes as the season progresses. “We’ve been trying to close (the gap),” he said. “Arsenal have been solid for a number of years. I’m interested in how they improve as a team and get closer. From my experience,[seasons]are very long. This is my experience.”
“There are a lot of teams there. Bournemouth and the other teams are doing very well and we will try to play our game. I was worried before the international break when we were 14th in the table.”
“Listen, our job is not to look at the table. If they win all their games and win the Premier League, congratulations. But the team is alive and the team feels good…
“We have to improve on the details, but we’re not spending October and November thinking about what will happen if we don’t win the Premier League. It’s game by game.”
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