Former Manchester City and Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann has said that he doesn’t think Arsenal will be in the title race this season.
The Gunners currently sit fourth in the Premier League one point behind Manchester City and nine points behind league leaders Liverpool.
Most Read on Gooner News
They come off the back of an impressive 5-1 win against Sporting CP in the Champions League and a 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest in the league.
However former Premier League midfielder Didi Hamann believes that Arsenal won’t be in the title fight come the end of the season.
He told Genting Casino: “I said a few weeks ago, I expected a two-horse race between Liverpool and City this season. Arsenal had everything going their way in the last two seasons. They played out of their skin, and they still couldn’t get the job done. So, I don’t really see them doing it this season either. I still think that City is the most likely team to catch Liverpool.
“If Liverpool’s rivals want to close a gap of 8 and 9 points, you’ve got to be able to win four, five, six, seven on the spin. Liverpool are in a fantastic position.”
Arsenal have a chance to gain ground on title rivals
The good news for Mikel Arteta is that Liverpool and Manchester City face each other this weekend meaning that it gives the Gunners a chance either to gain ground on Liverpool or leapfrog Manchester City in the table.
Furthermore, the Gunners don’t face one of their fellow top four teams until the start of February meaning that they have a very favourable run of games.
If they were to go on a run of wins or an unbeaten run, they have a chance at catching up to Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
Opta Supercomputer backs City over the Gunners
However, much like Hamann, the most recent simulation of the Premier League table by Opta, suggests that City have a better chance of winning the league than Arsenal do.
The simulation put Arsenal third at the end of the season and gave them just a 7.4% chance of winning the title this season.
However, it gave City a 14.9% chance to win the league despite their recent blip in form being winless in six matches for the first time under Pep Guardiola.