Rio Ferdinand believes Arsenal have 'wrapped' up the Premier League title with half the season left to play, suggesting they will not be caught by Manchester City.
The Gunners hold a five-point lead over the Blues and have a game in hand, though the pair are yet to face each other in the league. However, Ferdinand thinks the current leaders will get over the line no matter how they fare against Pep Guardiola’s side in those two clashes.
City narrowly beat Arsenal in last month’s FA Cup clash but have work to do to catch them in the league. Many now see this year’s chase for the title as a two-team race with Newcastle 11 points behind Mikel Arteta’s side having also played a game more.
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Both teams are still competing in Europe, with Arsenal through to the last 16 of the Europa League, while City prepare for a Champions League dance with RB Leipzig. Former United defender Ferdinand does not think European football will have a telling impact on the current standings and is backing Arsenal to go the distance.
Speaking on his YouTube show FIVE, he said: “I think it’s a wrap. I’ve got to be honest, I do. No matter what results Arsenal get against Man City, I still think Arsenal have enough confidence, quality and calmness to take the title.”
Touching on the title race a month ago, Guardiola admitted City would need to show unrivalled consistency to get themselves ahead in the title race. “The way you have to reduce the gap is play good and win games,” he said.
“(Arsenal) have an average that they will do more than 100 points the way they have done so far. If they continue in that way, we will not catch them.
“We have to be almost perfect from here and hope they drop their performance - yesterday they were excellent against Newcastle - and see what happens.” City have dropped three points in the Premier League since then, losing 2-1 to United in the Manchester derby.
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