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Former Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos has backed the Gunners to go on and win the Premier League title at the expense of reigning champions Manchester City.
Arsenal are flying high atop the table with just ten games to go, holding an eight-point lead over second-placed City, who have a game in hand. The Gunners face Leeds United on Saturday (April 1) after Pep Guardiola's men tackle Liverpool in the day's early kickoff.
Senderos, who spent seven seasons with the north London club, has backed Mikel Arteta's men to get the job done. The Swiss, thinking with his head and heart, predicts Arsenal to win the league for the first time since 2004, telling Ladbrokes FanZone:
"Thinking with both my head and my heart, Arsenal will win the Premier League – I certainly hope that happens. We know they have to put all of their focus into these next 10 games."
The Gunners have exited all cup competitions and are now fully concentrating on the league. Alluding to that, Senderos noted that they have no other distractions:
"They can benefit from being out of all other cup competitions because they have nothing else to think about; there are no other distractions for them now – just 10 Premier League games."
There's a lot of pressure on Arteta's side to end Manchester City's two-year stranglehold on the Premier League. Senderos acknowledged that but is hopeful his former side to continue their winning momentum through the rest of the season:
"Sometimes that can weigh on you, but I’m hopeful they can continue with the same mentality and conviction we’ve seen from them throughout the season."
The Gunners will have a close eye on developments at the Eithad when Manchester City face Liverpool. If the Cityzens win, they will move to within five points of Arsenal. The two title rivals meet at April 26 at the Etihad in what could be a title decider.
Arsenal boss Arteta on Manchester City's Rodri's horror tackle on Martin Odegaard
Arsenal players were on international duty last week as they took a break from club football. Gunners captain Odegaard led Norway in a 3-0 defeat to Spain and a 1-1 draw with Georgia in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers.
However, there was cause for concern in the loss to La Roja when Manchester City midfielder Rodri flew in on Odegaard after he had taken a shot at goal. The challenge wasn't reviewed by the referee despite Rodri getting none of the ball and leaving the Norweigan in a heap.
Arteta has brushed off the tackle and insisted that such incidents happen in football. He said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Leeds game (via talkSPORT):
“These things happen in football when they play against each other. But the rest of them are all good.”
Odegaard has been a key member of the Gunners this season. He has scored ten goals and provided seven assists in 35 games across competitions. Arteta will be counting on him to be at the peak of his powers for the remainder of the season.
