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Former England striker turned television pundit Gary Lineker has given his verdict on the Premier League title race involving Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City. The pundit, who also works as a television presenter, has claimed that Manchester City are the favorites for the title.
We might get to witness one of the most neck-to-neck title challenges in recent times this time out, with five teams potentially in the race right now. Lineker, who tipped Arsenal for the title earlier, has now backed Pep Guardiola's side to retain their title.
In conversation with former England defender Micah Richards on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker claimed that it is quite possible that Mikel Arteta's side might not even finish in the top four.
He said, as quoted by TBR Football:
“Is it crazy to say that it’s possible that Arsenal won’t finish in the top four? I think they will finish in the top four."
Micah Richards then reminded Lineker of his previous prediction, where he tipped the Gunners for the title.
Richards said:
"I think Arsenal will be in the top four, but it goes back to January, I think they need a striker, you tipped Arsenal to win the league didn’t you Gary?”
Lineker has admitted that he has changed his mind and believes Manchester City will retain the title once again this time around.
He replied:
“I did, I did, only to be contrary to you two who had both gone for the obvious choice of Manchester City, I still suspect it probably will be Manchester City, but I’m not changing, even though I’d rather Tottenham win the league and Aston Villa are in there."
Liverpool are currently leading the table with 42 points in 19 games. They are level on points with Aston Villa, who have played 20 games. Manchester City and Arsenal are third and fourth, respectively, with 40 points each, but Pep Guardiola's side have played a game less.
Micah Richards opens up about the Premier League title race involving Arsenal, Liverpool, and Man City
Micah Richards has highlighted the issues Liverpool and Arsenal could face if they have to stop the Cityzens from winning their fourth consecutive Premier League title.
The former Manchester City defender has claimed that it is the Cityzens who hold the advantage in the title race because of their players' abilities and the presence of Pep Guardiola.
He told The Rest is Football podcast, as quoted by Football 365:
“[Man City] have dropped off from the standards they have set in previous seasons. But you know in five, ten or 15 games, they are going to put that together because of the quality of the players and the manager. We all know it’s coming, don’t we? That is the problem."
Addressing Liverpool's issues, Richards said:
"It is very difficult to criticise them until it gets to March and April and they mathematically can’t win the league. Salah going to the Africa Cup of Nations is the big question mark. Can they plug the gap? I think they can. The last time when Salah went, they won a lot of the games. They can get over the line without him. Jota always scores when he plays, Diaz looks back in form.”
He also pointed out that the lack of an out-and-out goal scorer is letting Mikel Arteta's side down, and signing one lethal attacker should be their top priority in January.
Richards said:
“The only problem with Arsenal is you’ve got Saka and Martinelli and Jesus, who affects the play in terms of being involved in the game and works really hard, but he is not a true goalscorer. So you have to get a striker in. If I’m Arsenal now, you have to go and buy a striker. it is imperative."
He continued:
"It was last season where Saliba got injured for parts of the season and the difference with Man City and Arsenal is City can lose Haaland, De Bruyne and still keep the distance. Arsenal should have kicked on and the reason they haven’t is because they’ve not got someone who is potent in front of goal.”
The battle for the Premier League title is heating up as five teams are prominently in the race as of now.
