"They have mucked it up, haven't they?" - Ashley Cole makes bold claim on Arsenal in Premier League title race with Liverpool and Manchester City
Ashley Cole doesn't think Arsenal can catch Liverpool in the Premier League title race and expects Manchester City to be dethroned by the Merseysiders. The Gunners trail Arne Slot's league leaders by nine points heading into the weekend.
Arsenal are in action first on Saturday (November 30) when they face West Ham United at the London Stadium. All attention will then turn to Sunday when Liverpool meet City in a top-of-the-table clash at Anfield.
Cole, who won three titles during his illustrious career, downplayed the Gunners' chances of ending a 20-year wait for the title. He said in a video released by England's national team on TikTok:
"Who’s gonna win the league? I’m going to go Liverpool. Yeah, I think they [Arsenal] have mucked it up, haven’t they? It’s tough."
Mikel Arteta's troops have suffered two defeats in the league, and they are feeling the pressure of trying to catch Slot's runaway leaders. Last weekend, they beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 to get back to winning ways after a 1-0 loss to Newcastle United and a 1-1 draw against Chelsea.
The problem Arteta has is that the Anfield giants have shown no signs of falling apart on their surge to the title. They head into Sunday's game against reigning champions City unbeaten in their last five league outings.
Jan Aage Fjortoft thinks Liverpool will be champions if they win and Arsenal lose this weekend
Former Premier League star Jan Aage Fjortoft has predicted Liverpool will win the title should they win and Arsenal suffer defeat this weekend. The Norweigan pundit wrote on X:
"If Arsenal lose vs West Ham. If City lose... Liverpool will win the Premier League…by all means don’t forget this tweet in May."
There is a long way to go in the title race, but if Fjortoft's result predictions were to come true, it would put the Merseysiders in a strong position. They'd move 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League, 12 points above the Gunners.
It's been a remarkable start to life at Anfield for Slot, who's overseen 10 wins in 12 league games. His team are also top of the UEFA Champions League table and are playing an exciting attacking brand of football.
City are still in the equation despite a shocking run of results, suffering three consecutive defeats. Pep Guardiola's dominance in English football is at risk of ending for the first time in four years.