Gary Lineker has backed Arsenal to win the Premier League title despite their FA Cup defeat to Southampton, with the BBC pundit calling Champions League glory an 'enormous bonus' for Mikel Arteta's side
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Gary Lineker is confident Arsenal will come out on top in the Premier League title race(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Gary Lineker has shared his verdict on Arsenal's title prospects, claiming that Champions League glory would merely be the icing on the cake in a season where Mikel Arteta's side appear firmly on track to claim the Premier League crown. Arsenal sit nine points clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand against Crystal Palace and will still host the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium.
Arsenal face Champions League action this week against Sporting Clube de Portugal in Lisbon, following their shock FA Cup 2-1 defeat to Championship side Southampton on Saturday. Still very much in contention in Europe, the Gunners have demonstrated genuine quality this season, remaining unbeaten in the group stage and now targeting a place in the semi-finals across a two-legged tie.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker stressed the need to get back on track following the disappointing result on the south coast. "The next game or two for Arsenal are hugely important. They need to steady the ship," the Leicester City legend said.
"There's no doubt, they've got a huge lead in the Premier League - it's a nine-point lead. Obviously, City have got a game in hand and they play Arsenal at the Etihad, so it could go down to three and it has to go down to three really for them to have any chance, City I think. But it's squeaky bum time."
Lineker continued: "I think they'll be fine. I think they'll win the league which will be the main thing for them.
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"Champions League would be an enormous bonus because obviously it's a competition that they've never won. So I think, I'm pretty confident they'll win the league but they do need to steady that ship."
Meanwhile, Alan Shearer shared Lineker's view, stating: "It is. They're under huge pressure, there's no doubt.
"Even Mikel's interview after the game tells you that but as I said earlier, you've always got the right to respond. And three days after the game, they've got that.
"Football is crazy, you go into that game and if you win it, your confidence is back up again and everything's nice and rosy.
"So that's what they have to do because the noise will just get louder if they don't."
Their Champions League encounter with Sporting takes place on Tuesday, 7 April at 8pm at Estadio Jose Alvalade, ahead of the reverse fixture at the Emirates the subsequent week (Wednesday, 15 April, 8pm).
Prior to that, though, they face a vital home encounter with Bournemouth on Saturday (12:30pm) as the title battle heats up.
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