Arsenal's Premier League hopes will "cookie crumble" amid early talk of their title chances, according to Jermaine Pennant.
The now retired former Gunner has seen the north Londoners win nine of their ten games to establish a four point lead at the summit. Already Mikel Arteta's side have seen off Tottenham and Liverpool and there is talk of how far this young Arsenal side can go.
Shrewd recruitment has made them immensely competitive and they've been good value for their wins thus far. But Pennant, who came through the ranks at Arsenal, is not convinced by the early season form and believes they will fall out of the top four all together.
He said on TalkSport : "I think that Arsenal, after Christmas, will cookie crumble like they did the year before to drop out of the Champions League spots. I'm gonna get criticised and battered by Arsenal fans being an ex-Gooner!"
Pennant continued: "What Arteta has done at Arsenal, where they were two, three seasons ago and what they are doing now, is absolutely amazing. We are giving Arsenal a lot of praise about where they are going and how they have conducted themselves in the first ten games.
"But it is all about will they maintain that, will they continue that after Christmas? We have seen a lot of teams come flying out the blocks and then as soon as the Christmas period comes and the games come thick and fast, they slip over easily."
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Arsenal have not finish in the top four since 2017 and narrowly missed out last term as they were pipped by Tottenham. Arteta's remit this term was to get the Gunners back into the Champions League, but he is now having to entertain talk of a surprise title charge.
Their latest win came over Leeds United and their next league assignment sees them travel to Southampton on Sunday. Arsenal are currently playing without pressure having surprised many with their early season showings. Last term they lost five of their final ten games which curtailed their hopes of finishing fourth.
This time round though, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and William Saliba in their ranks, the Gunners look more refined. Arteta said on his current squad: "Winning obviously helps a lot, but I have no complaints. I think this is an exceptional group that is in a really good moment, we are enjoying the moment, we want to get better in a lot of things that we are doing, but I think that we are on the right path."
