Alan Shearer - Arsenal - Myles Lewis-Skelly - Premier League
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Alan Shearer believes Arsenal possess a “huge advantage” in the Premier League title race thanks to their defensive strength and dominance from set-pieces, which have set them apart from challengers Liverpool and Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s men continued their impressive run at the top of the table with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday, extending their lead to four points. Despite a performance that lacked fluency, Eberechi Eze’s powerful strike against his former club proved enough to secure another crucial win.
The result marked Arsenal’s fifth consecutive clean sheet in all competitions and their tenth of the season across just 13 games, an extraordinary defensive record that Shearer says could be the decisive factor in the title race.
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The Premier League’s all-time top scorer compared Arsenal’s defensive discipline to the struggles of their closest rivals. Liverpool, who entered the weekend outside the top four, slumped to a fourth straight league defeat with a 2-1 loss at Brentford. Meanwhile, Manchester City’s recent unbeaten streak was halted by Aston Villa, who edged Pep Guardiola’s side 1-0.
With both of last season’s powerhouses faltering, Arsenal’s steady form has only strengthened the belief that the Premier League trophy could return to north London for the first time since 2004.
This is title-winning form. This is Arsenal.
Ten games unbeaten. Seven wins in a row. Five clean sheets in a row.
Game-by-game. Onto the next. pic.twitter.com/GXgO7IeDsz
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) October 26, 2025
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer admitted Arsenal weren’t at their best against Palace, but said their ability to grind out results shows why they are now favourites.
“You’re going to get games like this that come after a European game in midweek and you just need to get the result,” Shearer said. “It wasn’t as comfortable as Arsenal would like and it wasn’t a great performance but they won the game.
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“The huge advantage Arsenal have over Liverpool, Man City and whoever else thinks they can challenge is the defence and the set-pieces. They’re in the driving seat because of their ability to just win a game even when they’re not playing well, and that’s a result of the set-pieces and how good they are at the back.
“That’s why they’ve got such a clear lead at the top of the Premier League at the moment.”
It was a weekend of shocks across the Premier League, with Chelsea suffering a surprise home defeat to Sunderland, while Bournemouth’s victory saw them leap into second place, one point ahead of the newly-promoted Black Cats.
As things stand, Arsenal sit firmly in control of the title race, with their organisation, discipline, and set-piece mastery giving them a clear edge over their rivals.
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