‘There’s nothing there’ – Breakdown panel discussion, Arsenal and Man City’s title chances
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After 11 games, the Gunners are at the top of the table with a four-point difference, with Manchester City in second place.
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“It’s like choosing between being chased by a grizzly bear or a lion,” Cole said on TNT Sports’ The Breakdown, when asked whether City or Liverpool were more intimidating chasers.
“If I catch you, we’ll both eat you. You’ll have to put on your blinkers and run!”
Manchester City has beaten Arsenal twice to win the league title since Mikel Arteta took over as manager.
But the Gunners’ consistency so far suggests this could be the year they finally win.
“I’m still fully committed to Arsenal,” Cole continued.
“For this version of Arsenal, the problem in recent years has been experience. Did they have a centre-forward? They seem to have someone who can help them in that department.”
“The players seem more mature. They haven’t conceded goals. Even if[Erling]Haaland misses three or four weeks of the season and five or six games, he can’t afford to lapse too much.”
“I still think Arsenal’s best is better than Man City’s. It’s only slightly… but I think there’s something about that group of players.”
“Maybe this new version of Manchester City will win this year. They can win it. I think they will win it next year. But this is Arsenal’s year.”
“This has to be Arsenal’s year, because I’ll tell you what happens. If Arsenal don’t win anything this year, it’s not my problem. Three or four of their players will be thinking, ‘That’s never going to happen’. They have to do it this year.”
Will experience matter in the match against Arsenal?
Arsenal return from international break to face Tottenham in their first north London derby of the season at the Emirates Stadium on November 23.
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TNT Sports expert Owen Hargreaves believes City have what it takes to mount a serious challenge after convincingly crushing Liverpool, but warned that Arsenal’s depth in the full-back area could be important.
“The only thing I can say for City is that when push comes to shove I think they’ve done it because Arsenal haven’t done it yet. So I would say City are in the lead,” Hargreaves said.
“The only thing stopping Man City is the right-back. I think Pep has done a good job of creating a right-back in (Mateus) Nunez.”
“But you would think that Arsenal would have substitute players…at left-back they have Miles Lewis-Skelly and (Riccardo) Calafioli. At right-back they have Ben White and (Julian) Timber. I think that’s the only position for City.”
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Highlight: Merino’s double secures Gunners’ win
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Ally McCoist agreed with the assessment that City’s past experience of crossing the line during run-ins could be an advantage.
“The reservation would be that they’re not doing it,” McCoist said. “That’s my big reservation. But I don’t know if the players agree. But there’s something different about Arsenal this year.”
“Time will tell – we know that (Arsenal collapsed last time). But I don’t know. I just look at them and smell something different from them this year. I don’t know if it’s belief. I don’t know if it’s unity.”
“Certainly this team is as strong as any Arsenal team we’ve seen in the past, but I think it’s a little different this year.”
Are Man City too reliant on Haaland?
Joleon Lescott, who won two Premier League titles and the FA Cup with City, believes Arsenal have shown the consistency they need to end their 22-year wait to win the championship.
But what happens when the race is close?
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“I think if there is a shootout and the points are very close, City could win, but Arsenal’s worst is not far from their best. I think they are very consistent, but City could lose if they do badly. They could lose two out of five games.”
“If they don’t start Haaland when the season’s work is done and they’re still in the Champions League, not only will he miss games due to injury, but they’ll just rest him because they have players who can play in the Champions League three days later…I can honestly say that no matter who Haaland is, there is no one to replace Haaland, probably the only one in world football is Harry Kane.
“I think that’s one of the factors for their team. When we were talking about Rodri before, we relied too much on Rodri because the replacement was not the same. I think it’s the same with Haaland now.”
