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Brentford boss Thomas Frank believes Arsenal will challenge for the Premier League title this season following their fantastic start.
Frank's side were outplayed by their London rivals at the Gtech Community Stadium today (September 18) as they fell to a 3-0 defeat. Goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus, and Fabio Vieira handed the Gunners three points and sent them back to the top of the Premier League table.
Arsenal have enjoyed an outstanding summer transfer window and have won six out of their first seven league games.
After the full-time whistle, Frank was full of praise for Mikel Arteta's side, as he told Sky Sports (as per The Metro):
"We lost 3-0, to the number one [team] in the Premier League. I said before they are a top side. I think we performed quite well, not 10/10 but if you want to win or get something out of the team flying, you cannot concede the first from a set piece and then the second one."
He added:
"In general, unless it is something unbelievable from a set-piece, I want us to avoid every set-piece goal. There are some few bits we could have done better for the second. They didn’t create that many chances but had quality in moments."
Frank acknowledged Arsenal's quality and hailed them as title contenders, saying:
"We always want to play again but we have the international break, we deal with it and train with the players we have. I wish the players who are going away good luck. We lost the game, I hate losing. They are top of the table so you cannot argue with that, they have done brilliant. Looking at the quality, they must be title contenders."
Alan Shearer believes Arsenal are not yet title contenders
Despite their impressive start, Alan Shearer believes the north London side are not yet ready to compete with the likes of Manchester City for the league.
In his BBC Sport column, the Newcastle United and England legend stated:
"It's not time to talk about them as title contenders yet, but people now know that this is a different Arsenal to the team we saw just 13 months ago."
He referenced the Gunners' 2-0 defeat against Brentford last season on the opening day and said:
"The Gunners' 3-0 win at Brentford on Sunday epitomised their progress under Mikel Arteta, because we all remember what happened in this fixture on the opening weekend of last season, when the Bees didn't just beat them, they bullied them."
He added:
"Everything was different about Arsenal this time - in attack and defence, plus the way they controlled the game, and with their attitude and intensity. They ran out comfortable winners."
