Thierry Henry: Premier League title is a five-horse race
Thierry Henry believes the Premier League title race is between five teams and unsurprisingly defending champions Chelsea have not made it to the list, but nor have high-flying Leicester City, as reported by The Sun.
With a third of the campaign already complete, Henry believes the current champions Chelsea could easily have had a double-figure points advantage at the top of the table if they had reproduced their form from the last season. But the former France Captain also thinks that none of the top teams have performed substantially well enough to be deemed the favorites for the Premier League title.
“For me, the teams in contention are Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and maybe Liverpool," Henry predicted.
“Chelsea should not even be in the conversation. If they get back into the top four it will prove nothing more than how poorly the top teams are doing. If Chelsea had played like they did last year they would be 10 points clear now, with one hand already on the trophy.
“But it’s not just them, every time a team has had the opportunity to take charge at the top, they have wasted it. Back in the day it was felt, a team couldn’t win the league if they lost more than three games. But nearly every team has already lost that many this time — and we are only 13 games into the season.
Arsenal topped the table after 10 matches but have since dropped to the fourth place. Henry understands that Arsene Wenger’s must capitalise on their chances. The former Gunners striker feels his former club have slipped up in their bid to win their first long-awaited league trophy since 2004 with a string of unworthy performances.
“If they had beaten Spurs and West Brom like they should have done, they would be three points clear at the top. Instead, they are fourth and have squandered five points which could prove decisive in the end. They have also allowed Tottenham back into the dogfight and given belief to Liverpool they might still have a chance,” he said.
“With the exception of Leicester, every Premier League team should have done better this season. Jamie Vardy has been amazing and I’ve nothing but admiration for how he has come from nowhere and used his hunger to break the Prem’s scoring record. But, as well as they are playing, it’s unlikely Leicester will stay top and win the title.” Henry wrote in his column for The Sun.