“They won’t want Arsenal to win the league” - Tim Sherwood names 3 teams who can spoil Gunners’ hopes of winning Premier League title
Former Blackburn Rovers captain Tim Sherwood has opined that Arsenal's next three home matches could ruin their title chances this season. The Gunners face Chelsea, West Ham United and Fulham in London derbies and the pundit believes it could be an issue for them.
Speaking on Premier League productions, Danny Murphy opined that West Ham, Chelsea and Fulham were possible banana skins for Mikel Arteta's side in their title chase. Sherwood was quick to agree with the former Liverpool midfielder and said (via Metro):
"I look at Arsenal’s fixtures and their home games are London derbies. We know how difficult they can be. Even if it’s not your main rival it’s very difficult because teams take a big following with them. Chelsea at home as well… they can hurt anyone on their day. I know they’re not having a good time of it at the moment but they can beat anyone."
"When I played and we were going to a team challenging for a title, there was always some extra on the game. You wanted to be a party pooper. As sad as it sounds, that was sometimes the only thing you were playing for, to spoil someone else’s season. Chelsea, West Ham and Fulham will definitely want to spoil Arsenal’s season, they won’t want Arsenal to win the league."
The Gunners are currently eight points behind Liverpool, but have a chance to close the gap to five if they win against West Ham tomorrow (February 22).
Liverpool have the best run in title chase with Arsenal, claims Tim Sherwood
Tim Sherwood also spoke about Liverpool's title chances this season and believes they can all but seal the deal in the next six matches. He claimed that the Reds have the advantage as four of their six matches are at Anfield, where they have been brilliant this season. He said (via Metro):
"I think if you look at it, Liverpool have got four home games out of the next six and Anfield is a fortress. I would rather that run. Arsènal have got three and three. Two of those are at [Nottingham] Forest and [Manchester] United. You could argue United have been an easy ride for a lot of teams recently but Man United tend to put up a fight against the bigger teams. They knocked Arsènal out of the FA Cup remember. I think although Liverpool have Man City at the weekend, they’ve got better fixtures coming up than Arsenal."
Liverpool will take on current Premier league holders Manchester City on the weekend (February 23). Having drawn two of their last three league games, another slip-up would allow the Gunners to further close the gap at the top.