Wayne Rooney makes U-turn on Premier League title prediction involving Arsenal and Manchester City
Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney has backed Arsenal to win the Premier League title this season ahead of last year's champions Manchester City. The Englishman admitted that the Gunners are the favorites to lift the title this term.
Arsenal have maintained their eight-point lead over the Cityzens at the top of the league with their 4-1 victory over Leeds United on Saturday (1 April). Manchester City secured a dominant 4-1 win over Liverpool earlier in the day.
It appears that Mikel Arteta's side will end their 19-year wait for a league title, with only nine games left this campaign.
Ben White was asked if the Arsenal players watched Man City's win against Liverpool 😅 https://t.co/qN8dlg9DR8
Rooney initially backed Manchester City to defend their crowd this season. The Englishman has now reversed his stance on the title race, as he told The Times (via Metro):
"The title race? Nothing would surprise me from Manchester City. They could put together an incredible run and still win it but you have to say Arsenal are favorites. Everyone has been waiting for them to drop off but they’ve been top of the league for so many weeks and dealing with the pressure all season. I don’t see a collapse from them."
The former England international also predicted who will finish in the top four this term. Rooney backed Manchester United and Liverpool will secure Champions League spots this term. He added:
"Manchester United will be there but I have a suspicion that Liverpool might sneak into it, thanks to the quality of their squad and their experience. They’re capable of going on a run."
The Gunners and Manchester City will lock horns in an extremely imperative reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium on 27 April.
"I think it's 50:50" - Gary Neville on Premier League title race between Arsenal and Manchester City
Another former Manchester United player has made a U-turn on his stance regarding the Premier League title race this season.
Gary Neville has iterated on multiple occasions throughout this campaign that the Cityzens will defend the title. This is despite the Gunners dominating the No.1 position for the majority of the season.
Man City: win
Arsenal: win
Arsenal restore their eight-point lead in the title race having played one more game ⚔️ https://t.co/NItU1HYBxn
However, the Englishman now believes the title race is completely open. Neville admitted that he originally thought Arsenal would drop points at this point in the season. The former United star told Sky Sports:
"Look, I think it's 50:50, it wasn't that I was certain six or eight weeks ago that City were going to win win the league, I absolutely thought by now Arsenal would have dropped lots of points and they wouldn't be where they are, but now I think it's 50:50."
The Gunners will next face Liverpool on 9 April as the Cityzens take on Southampton on 8 April.