Danny Murphy has performed a dramatic U-turn on his title predication, claiming there's a new favourite to win the Premier League
12:47, 17 Oct 2025
Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy. (Image: BBC Sport).
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Danny Murphy believes there's a new favourite to win the Premier League
Danny Murphy has explained why he believes Arsenal are the favourites to win the Premier League. The Gunners have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, leapfrogging Liverpool to claim top spot just before the October international break.
The reigning champions conceded valuable ground in the title race, losing 2-1 to Chelsea. Estevao Willian fired the Blues to victory at Stamford Bridge, netting a stoppage-time winner, which could prove decisive by May.
Meanwhile, Arsenal cruised past West Ham at the Emirates Stadium, climbing into first place. If Liverpool are to retake the lead this weekend, they must beat Manchester United at Anfield and hope that the north Londoners drop points against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
While only a point separates the two sides, Murphy has explained why Arsenal are the favourites. Speaking to BetWright, the former Premier League midfielder said: "Mikel Arteta is a Premier League winning-calibre manager.
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"The progression at Arsenal has been exceptional, and they’re getting really close to a title now, even though it’s taken a bit longer than what some fans would’ve wanted. There’s been some frustration in the last few years as they’ve been so close, but have had nothing to show for it.
"The transformation is clear though; you can see what Arteta is trying to do, they’ve got great structure and are very organised. Arteta has been unlucky in that, two seasons ago, they would’ve won the league in most years had it not been for Manchester City.
"I thought the recent criticism on Arteta was unfair. I admire his forthright, single-minded ambition. The issue that managers face is, at big clubs, you’re judged by trophies won.
"If you look past the trophies, Arsenal have improved every season," added the Match of the Day pundit. "The levels they’re playing at are at the highest we’ve seen for a long time."
Referencing the Gunners' spree in the summer, where they forked out over £250m on new players, Murphy added: "The difference this year is that they now have the squad depth to do it.
"Arsenal are the favourites for the league now, and rightly so."
Ahead of the opening weekend of the new season, Murphy told the BBC that Liverpool would win the Premier League. He tipped Arsenal to finish second, Manchester City to finish third, and Chelsea to secure fourth.
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Speaking on Match of the Day in August, Murphy claimed that there's 'a lot to be excited by' at Anfield. Liverpool spent nearly twice as much on new players as Arsenal in the summer (£446.5m), breaking the British transfer record twice on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
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