Ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that the Gunners have their best chance of winning the Premier League title this season, pointing towards a potential return to form for Liverpool and Manchester City next campaign. It comes as the north London outfit sit top of the table after a dominant first half of the campaign.
However, their gap at the top has been chipped away at by the current champions City, who have been far from their usual best. The Manchester outfit have gone toe-to-toe with rivals Liverpool plenty of times over the past five years, both putting up seasons with over 90 points each.
With the Gunners taking advantage of both sides falling from their heights so far this campaign, recent dropped points will have concerned Mikel Arteta. It could have been far worse when they were drawing in the final few moments against Aston Villa, only to score twice in stoppage time to secure all three points.
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"You have to," Arteta replied when asked if winning games in that fashion was an indicator of being champion material. "Sometimes you’re going to have to win games in the 94th, in the 96th, you’re gonna have to score from set plays, you’re gonna have to score when sometimes you are down to 10 men.
"Win in any context and we’ve always talked about that. Today we had a really difficult context, especially with what happened after five minutes, and the team showed a lot of emotional qualities that are needed to be out there."
Manchester City then went on to draw against Nottingham Forest, putting Arsenal two points clear with one game in hand over their rivals. For Wenger, it signals a need for the side to continue on their push towards winning the Premier League title this season.
He told beIN Sports: "They've hungry. They are good enough, there's always a period when you have not won, where you have to deal with it. It's now an opportunity where you can miss. The usual threats in the Premier League are all out of the race.
"The only threat is City and even City is not as dominant as they were last year, two years before. Since the start of the season, City are more vulnerable defensively than they were the years before. I feel that you win it when you can and you don't care about all the rest of it, you let other people talk and you take the title. Personally, where I agree with you is the conditions next year.
"They will not be as favourable as they are now, so let's not miss this opportunity. Arsenal have 51 points, which is remarkable after 22 games. Liverpool not so long ago were running for four trophies. It's spectacular [Liverpool's decline]. I believe there are many answers in there, it's never one answer. The staff and Jurgen Klopp have to find the answer, you have to find the key to make that start again."
It remains to be seen what the future may hold for the Gunners when it comes to beyond this season, however focus will be firmly fixed on the next fixture to edge even closer to silverware.
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