Bournemouth manager Scott Parker has backed Arsenal to be "right up there" in the Premier League standings come the end of the season. It comes ahead of the clash between the two sides this weekend, where Mikel Arteta will be hoping his men can make it three wins from three.
It would cement an impressive start for the Gunners, showing a complete turnaround from last season's opening trio of losses that left them bottom of the league. There was an impressive turnaround for the north London outfit, but there was one loss too many as they just missed out on a top four finish to rivals Tottenham.
However, with momentum moving in the right direction on the whole, Arteta has received yet more backing in his attempt to achieve his vision for the club. A further £100million has been sunk into transfers for the squad, with yet more quality and depth added to the ranks.
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It led former player Patrick Vieira to reflect on their chances in the Premier League - having played against Arsenal and Liverpool in Crystal Palace's opening two games of the season. He told Sky Sports: "When you look at the number of points, of course playing against two teams who are fighting to win the Premier League, is always going to be challenging."
With the ex-Gunners captain putting the side in the same category as Liverpool, who have consistently challenged for the title in recent seasons, it shows the improvement made at the Emirates Stadium. It's a similar sentiment shared by Bournemouth boss Parker.
Speaking ahead of the game against the Gunners, the Cherries boss said: "I seriously see them as a team that are going to be right up there this year. What Mikel’s done in a short space of time at Arsenal and how that improvement’s happened.
“Last year narrowly missing out on fourth, and the progression that they’ve made in terms of the signings this year has only enhanced and improved them even more. Another year under Mikel as well can only be beneficial. We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us at the weekend, a technical team, a positional team, that have huge quality all over the pitch."
It remains to be seen whether a title push is truly on the cards for Arsenal this season, with it being such early days in the season. However, they can only continue winning to find that out, starting with the trip to the south coast next up.
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