Jamie Redknapp has ruled one of Arsenal’s rivals out of the Premier League title race after both Liverpool and Manchester City suffered damaging defeats on Saturday.
Both sides had the chance to put pressure on Mikel Arteta’s injury-ravaged side ahead of their north London derby with Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.
However, neither team were able to pick up three points, meaning the Gunners can now extend their lead at the top of the table to six points with a win against Spurs.
Liverpool suffered a 3-0 defeat to City prior to the international break, but things got even worse for the defending champions on Saturday as a sorry display saw Arne Slot’s side lose 3-0 to Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
The Reds have now lost six of their last seven games in the league and sit in the bottom half of the table, with speculation around Slot’s future at the club starting to come to the fore.
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City, meanwhile, squandered the opportunity to move temporarily within one point of Arsenal as Pep Guardiola’s side suffered a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United courtesy of Harvey Barnes’ second-half brace.
After a routine 2-0 win over Burnley earlier on Saturday, Redknapp believes that Chelsea can now be considered a serious rival to Arsenal and City in the title race.
But Redknapp was quick to dismiss Liverpool as a contender this season after their latest defeat, insisting it would be a ‘miracle’ if his former side managed to retain the title they won so comprehensively last season.
‘Yeah look we can forget Liverpool,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘They have had a few mentions tonight, but forget Liverpool.
‘They cannot win the Premier League this year. They’re too far gone, confidence is too low, that’ll be a miracle if they did it.
‘So I think there’s probably three runners, but one outstanding one. Arsenal are by far the best team. They’ve got the best squad, best organised, and they’ve been the best over the last four or five years.’
Former England striker Alan Shearer noted his ‘concern’ with City’s porous defence after their defeat to Newcastle, and Redknapp argees that Pep Guardiola’s side are still some way behind the Gunners in terms of consistency and squad depth.
‘What Manchester City have done previously, where they would go on 12 13, 14 game winning runs, is this team capable of doing it? I don’t think so,’ he said.
Can anyone challenge Arsenal this season?
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No – start engraving the trophy
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Yes – we’ve still got a long way to go…
‘They’re probably ahead of where I thought they would be this year because of the changes they’ve had, obviously people like Kevin De Bruyne leaving the club, so they’re in a really strong position.
‘But I think this year, if Arsenal don’t win it from here, that team won’t win it. They won’t. It’s as simple as that. They’re in such a strong position defensively, they’re really good
‘But for Man City, it’s just a case of what else can they win? Because they’ve still got so many things to play for. They’re really exciting side and they’ve got really good players.
‘But as we just said there, they’ve lost the last two away games against Aston Villa, who have not been in the best of form, and they’ve gone to Newcastle and lost.
‘And you’re thinking, when they were the team that we all admired, when they were winning titles after title, they would go there and win and find a way, but right now, I just don’t think that’s possible.
‘Are they still playing well? Yes, they can play the game like they did against Liverpool where they dispatched them, but I just don’t see this Manchester City side as strong as the previous ones just yet. But they will build and they will definitely get back to that.’
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