Michael Owen says Manchester United cannot be ruled out of the Premier League title race, despite them being eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
The Premier League title race took another twist on Saturday as Arsenal twice came from behind to beat Aston Villa 4-2 in the early kick-off. That result moved Mikel Arteta’s side beyond Manchester City into top spot and they stayed there thanks to a slip-up from City.
Pep Guardiola’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Nottingham Forest, with Chris Wood scoring an 84th-minute equaliser for the home side. Bernardo Silva rifled City in front, but the defending champions were guilty of missing several presentable opportunities as they ended the day two points behind Arsenal, who also have a game in hand.
Owen spoke about the title race on Premier League Productions after the results. Talking about Manchester City, he said: “It’s amazing isn’t it? Because you see them sat there on 52 points and it’s a really good total, but you just don’t feel like they’re absolutely purring and at the top of their game this season so far, Manchester City.
“And Arsenal, even though they’ve had a couple of iffy results in recent times, they’re probably sat there confident now. They’ve gained another couple of points on Manchester City – and probably had the harder game.
“However, cast your minds back a month or so and Manchester City would probably snap your hand off only being two points behind now, because that gap was quite big.
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“Everyone knows there are going to be so many ups and downs and twists – and nobody is mentioning Manchester United. Because if Manchester City are involved, and obviously Manchester United, if they win their game in hand, they’re only three points behind City, so you cannot rule anything out at the moment. But you’d have to say that Arsenal are in the driving seat.”
United are currently in third place on 46 points ahead of their home game against Leicester on Sunday afternoon. Erik ten Hag’s side are in decent form, having won seven and lost just one of their past 10 league games. If they win against the Foxes then United will move to within three points of their rivals.
At the moment, it remains a two-horse race, with Arsenal back in front following their dramatic win over Villa. Arsenal were heading for a 2-2 draw in the 93rd minute, but Emiliano Martinez’s unfortunate own goal and Gabriel Martinelli’s tap-in on the break ensured an important win, which ended their run of four games in all competitions without one.
“Today we had a really difficult context, especially with what happened after five minutes, and the team showed a lot of emotional qualities that are needed to be out there,” Arteta said. “So, I’m really happy.”
