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Arsenal are ‘JUST behind City’ as the second best team in the Premier League and ‘have a good chance’ of winning the title if Pep Guardiola’s side focuses on the Champions League, legendary former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger points out
- Arsene Wenger thinks Arsenal is second favorite behind Manchester City
- Mikel Arteta’s team has had a strong start to the season and is one point clear
- The Gunners legend thinks Arsenal’s chance could come as City target Europe
- He also thinks they have Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs off in the chasing peloton
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Arsene Wenger supported Arsenal’s current set-up as the second favorite to win the Premier League this season, behind Manchester City.
The Frenchman led the Gunners from 1996 to 2018 and he is confident Mikel Arteta’s men are well placed to win their first title since Wenger led the Londoners to glory in 2003-04.
Arsenal currently top the table with 21 points, one point more than Man City after their 6-3 win at home against Man United on Sunday.
Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal are second favorite for the Premier League title this season
The 72-year-old told beIN SPORTS that he felt Arsenal were in a very strong position after a promising start to the new season, most recently capped by their own 3-1 derby day win over Spurs in the Emirates.
Wenger said: ‘Personally I would put them just behind City. The second best team with a good chance of winning the Premiership [sic]. Man City will focus heavily on the Champions League at some point.”
City’s European ambition will certainly be a focus for Pep Guardiola’s side, and Wenger noted that it could open a possible avenue for Arsenal to sneak in for domestic success for the first time in nearly two decades.
However, he felt Arsenal had shown enough to give them an edge over other contenders for the Premier League.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is backed by club legend Wenger after a great start to the competition
“We don’t know anything about Liverpool, but they are already 11 points behind,” Wenger said. “10 points behind Man City is a mountain to climb.
“Chelsea don’t look very good, consistent at the moment. They haven’t found the confidence to compete for the league.”
He finished with a laugh, as he said: ‘Tottenham by my DNA, I can be’, which earned the appreciation of fellow pundit, former Chelsea captain John Terry.
Arsenal’s own European run continues against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday, before taking on Liverpool next Sunday in a crucial Premier League game.
A win for the Gunners would put them 14 points clear of the Reds at this stage of the season and bolster the form that Wenger believes will make them title contenders again.
Wenger led Arteta during his long stint as Gunners boss, pictured here together in 2016