Kevin De Bruyne says Arsenal are genuine Premier League title contenders, something he isn't at all surprised by.
Such has been the hype around Manchester City and in particular Erling Haaland this season, you'd be forgiven that the reigning Premier League champions were already running away with the crown. In reality though City are currently second in the standings, one point behind Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.
Before the start of the season many people identified City and Liverpool as clear favourites to fight for the title, but Arsenal have upset the apple cart by winning eight of their opening nine matches.
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But if some people are surprised, De Bruyne isn't one of them. City's Belgian midfielder worked closely with Arsenal boss Arteta while he was Pep Guardiola's assistant at the Etihad Stadium between 2016 and 2019. Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of City's meeting with Liverpool this Sunday, De Bruyne explained how he could see Arsenal's rise coming.
"No not really," De Bruyne said when asked if he was surprised by Arsenal's position in the table. "Obviously I see a lot of similarities with the way that we play, but that's always been his [Arteta's] style.
"When he [Arteta] stopped playing and he had the opportunity to come here [City] it was for him a good learning school, and obviously we had great years.
"I saw an evolution from the beginning of Mikel to after three years when he left. At the beginning he was adapting to the way, but then he was getting more and more into his role. I think we also saw he had a lot of ambition and that when the opportunity comes he will take that. I think it's nice to see also that he got the time from Arsenal, because that's a very difficult thing. I'm happy for him that it's going well."
Asked if after nine games Arsenal can be considered serious title contenders, De Bruyne was clear.
"They are - they're playing really, really good football so I'm happy to see the way they have progressed. Hopefully they just won't be good enough for us!"
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