Arsene Wenger is adamant Mikel Arteta has a title-winning team at Arsenal and says his former club have a ‘more complete squad’ than Liverpool.
Premier League champions Liverpool bolstered Arne Slot’s squad with a £400m spending spree over the summer.
The Reds twice broke their own transfer record, spending over £100m to sign Florian Wirtz before doing the same to bring Alexander Isak to Anfield.
Some pundits feared Liverpool’s impressive transfer window would result in the Merseyside club once again storming clear of their Premier League rivals.
Slot’s side won their first seven games of the season but have since lost four games in a row to slip to fourth in the table, four points behind early pacesetters Arsenal.
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The Gunners also enjoyed a productive transfer window – spending over £250m on new additions – and Mikel Arteta’s team have hardly put a foot wrong this season.
Arsenal are now the outright favourites to win their first Premier League title since 2004 and Wenger believes his former club are ‘really equipped’ to become English champions.
Wenger was impressed with Arsenal’s transfer business and says the Gunners now boast a ‘more complete squad’ than reigning champions Liverpool.
Asked whether he viewed Arsenal as genuine title contenders, Wenger told beIN SPORTS: ‘Yes, without any hesitation.
‘You might say that I say that every year but I believe this year they are really equipped to deal with any problems.
‘When they lost Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka last season it was too much but this year you have [Noni] Madueke, [Eberechi] Eze, [Gabriel] Martinelli, [Leandro] Trossard.
‘At the back they have [Cristhian] Mosquera, down the flanks and at the back they have replacements. [Myles] Lewis-Skelly doesn’t get in the team at the moment and he’s an England international.
‘I think they have the most complete squad.
‘Compare them with Liverpool, I watched them against Chelsea and [Dominik] Szoboszlai was at right-back and [Ryan] Gravenberch was centre back. Arsenal would not be in that kind of position.’
Discussing Liverpool’s current malaise, with the Reds losing to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, Chelsea and Manchester United in their last four games, Wenger added: ‘Sometimes you need to give players time.
‘The players have the talent, Isak has the talent and Wirtz has the talent. But of course at the moment they have not reached their level.
‘Maybe they have to go through a tough period, show total commitment to the team and then the confidence will come back.’
Arsenal showed their class yet again on Tuesday night with an emphatic 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Goals from Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres’ brace saw Arsenal brush Atletico aside and maintain their perfect start in Europe.
The Premier League leaders face London rivals Crystal Palace this weekend while reigning champions Liverpool visit Brentford.
Rio Ferdinand, a six-time Premier League winner with Manchester United, has backed Arsenal to end their wait for a league title following their superb start to the season.
Some of the other potential title contenders include Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Club World Cup champions Chelsea and high-flying Bournemouth.
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