Arsenal may have pulled off a “brilliant” deal to sign Declan Rice, but it still won’t be enough to win the Premier League title.
That’s according to Robbie Savage, who has explained why he believes the Gunners are still a step behind Manchester City in the early days of the new campaign.
Treble-winners City are the only team to have won all four league games to start the season, whereas Arsenal had dropped points at home to Fulham before a last-gasp win over Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta’s new trio of Rice, Kai Havertz and Odegaard has impressed former midfielder Savage, despite other pundits’ criticism of ex-Chelsea man Havertz.
But he fears Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut will simply be too difficult to beat despite Arseenal’s best efforts.
“Declan Rice was really impressive against United,” he told Planet Sport Bet. “I thought it was a fantastic performance and if you look at that midfield area now with Rice, Kai Havertz who has come under some criticism but I think he will come good, and Martin Odegaard who scored their first, they look strong.
“What a player Odegaard is, I think he has been so good and he can be even better this season because he has Rice in there with him.
“The acquisition of Rice for £105m was a brilliant piece of business for Arsenal. Not only can he play a defensive role but he can drive forward and we saw it a couple of times against United where he gets the ball and drives with it through the heart of United. He can score goals, he’s a leader and he comes across as a really nice guy.
“From the outside you want players like him to do well and he’s added so much quality to the Arsenal side.
“But even with the acquisition of Declan Rice, I don’t think Arsenal can win the league, simply because of Manchester City. If City weren’t in the Premier League then I think Arsenal would win it, but unfortunately for Arsenal, they are.”
