Burnley v Bournemouth - Premier League
Burley defender and Manchester City legend Kyle Walker (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal may be marching towards the title but Kyle Walker insists they are not the ‘hardest’ team he has faced in the Premier League this season.
Arsenal’s dramatic win over Everton on Saturday and Manchester City’s surprise draw at West Ham has left the Gunners nine points clear at the top of the table.
Mikel Arteta’s side have seven games remaining as they look to win their first league title since 2004, while Man City have a game in hand plus a home match against Arsenal to try and close the gap.
Walker won six Premier League titles during his long and successful spell at Manchester City and is currently at relegation-battlers Burnley.
The 35-year-old right-back has defended Arsenal’s tactics and style of play which have been criticised by a number of pundits and even the likes of Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler and ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.
Walker says it is ‘horrific’ trying to deal with Arsenal’s deadly set-pieces but insists Manchester City, who are nine points behind in the title race, are still ‘harder’ to play against.
‘With the long throws and the set-pieces, you look at Arsenal, for example, everyone’s talking about Arsenal, that they’re the set-piece team,’ Walker told Sky Bet.
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Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are leading the Premier League title race (Picture: Getty)
‘It’s allowed in football. If you get a corner, you have to take a corner, and if you score from a corner, well done.’
Asked what it is like trying to deal with Arsenal’s set-pieces, Walker added: ‘Horrific. The movement is just not normal in football.
‘You’re constantly looking over your back, when you’re seeing Gabriel or [William] Saliba, these big six-foot-four men running at you.
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‘I remember I got done on a goal at [Manchester] City, when he was trying to touch me and I’m slapping him away and suddenly, one movement there, one movement behind, I’ve lost him.
‘We were zonal at Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola put me on Gabriel just to hold him. You think, he’s not scoring this one. And then, goal.’
Given his admission about Arsenal’s set-pieces, Walker was then asked if Arsenal have become ‘harder’ to play against than his former side Manchester City.
‘No, Arsenal are not harder to play against this season compared to Manchester City,’ said Walker, who announced his international retirement last week.
‘City know what they’re doing, and it’s ingrained in them because there’s a core group of players there that know what is needed and wanted from the manager, which will be you isolate your full backs 1v1 and the wingers will probably nine times out of 10 win you the game.
‘I’ve worked with Mikel Arteta at Manchester City and Mikel’s taken a lot of things from Pep in the way that he coaches.
Who will win the Premier League title?
Arsenal
Manchester City
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‘It’s the formation, it’s the up, back and throughs. It’s the set the ball, don’t turn on the ball.’
While Walker views Man City – not Arsenal – as Burnley’s toughest opponent this season, he insists the Gunners are better equipped than in previous seasons to win the Premier League title.
Arteta has led Arsenal to three successive second-place finishes but finally looks set to lift the Premier League trophy.
‘Arsenal have put themselves in a very good position,’ said Walker, who has made well over 400 Premier League appearances and earned 96 caps for England.
‘And do I think that Arsenal are more equipped this year than what they have in the previous years? Yes, definitely.’
Title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City meet in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, with both sides having the chance to secure their first piece of silverware of the season.
Burnley, meanwhile, sitting second from bottom in the Premier League, will look to boost their unlikely survival chances against Fulham on Saturday.
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