Arsenal have a five-point lead as the Premier League pauses for the World Cup and Arsene Wenger believes they might have a key advantage over Manchester City for the title.
The Gunners’ 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday increased their lead by three points after City suffered a shock 2-1 defeat by an Ivan Toney-inspired Brentford earlier in the day. Mikel Arteta’s side have now won 12 of their 14 matches and are now considered genuine contenders for the title.
Arsenal have not even finished in the top four since 2015/16 and have won the Premier League since the famous Invincibles, managed by Wenger, in the 2003/04 season. By contrast, City have won four of the past five titles, but may have their sights set on a different goal.
Discussing the title contenders at the start of October, Wenger told beIN Sports: “Yeah, personally I would put them just behind City. [Arsenal are] the second-best team to have a good chance to win the Premier League because Man City at some stage will focus highly on the Champions League.”
Asked if he felt it’s Arsenal’s best chance to challenger, Wenger said: “I think so. And after we don’t know about Liverpool but they are already 11 points behind and 10 points behind Man City is a mountain to climb. And Chelsea as well do not look consistent at the moment. They have not found the confidence to contend to win the league.”
After the Wolves win, which came courtesy of two goals from captain Martin Odegaard, Arteta was asked how significant his side’s current position is. “It’s great to be where we are and we are enjoying that moment,” he replied.
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“Now we have a big break and we have to reflect on what we’re doing and be prepared for after the World Cup. Our aim is to play better as a team every day, to have better tools to do what we want to do. I can say it’s been phenomenal to work with these players and staff.”
He added: “Obviously, nobody expected us to be where we are right now and the number of games that we managed to win.”
Arteta was then asked if his side had performed above his own expectations. “Yes, but I take it day by day and not even game by game,” he said.
“I understand that the better we do the daily things and we commit to doing those things better, every individual is going to contribute to the team doing better and that’s what we want to do.”
Arsenal now have five weeks off for the World Cup, which runs from November 20 to December 18. They return to Premier League action on Boxing Day, when they take on West Ham, before matches against Brighton on New Years’ Day and Newcastle four days later.
