1 week ago
9
Jamie Carragher has boldly claimed that Arsenal is currently "by far the best team" in the Premier League.
The Gunners defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 at the Emirates on Sunday, with Eberechi Eze scoring the game's only goal. The result leaves Arsenal four points clear of Bournemouth, who beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at home on Sunday, at the top of the table - but the Gunners did pick up FOUR injuries during their latest victory.
Sunderland is third in the standings after winning 2-1 at Chelsea on Saturday, while Manchester City has dropped to fourth after losing 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday. Mikel Arteta's squad now boasts an impressive run of seven consecutive victories across all competitions, including four in the Premier League.
This is a stark contrast to Liverpool, a team that has suffered four consecutive Premier League losses, including Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Brentford. If Liverpool's poor form continues, Manchester City is expected to become Arsenal's main title rival.
Sharing his thoughts on the Gunners ahead of Sunday's action, Carragher said: "I think if Arsenal can win today, you think of the daylight between them and Liverpool, but also Manchester City if they don't get maximum points (against Aston Villa).
"I am looking at Arsenal right now, and they look by far the best team in the country right now.
"It's very early days, of course it is, but they need to capitalize on the situation they find themselves in because they could get a sizeable lead in these early stages."
Micah Richards chimed in: "I think Arsenal have been absolutely brilliant, they can win in any way.
"Yes, we've talked about the set pieces, defensively, but I actually think with [Viktor] Gyokeres and the way he stretches opposition getting Eze, (Bukayo) Saka involved, (Gabriel) Martinelli running in behind, (Leandro) Trossard getting in them pockets, I think they're a brilliant team.
"Watching them in the Champions League against Atletico. I thought it was going to be two teams that sat back and it be very difficult, but they went there, expressed themselves.
"I said a couple of weeks ago I thought they had the handbrake on, but they've taken the handbrake off now and Arsenal, if they want it, it's certainly there for them."
Prior to the fixture, Arteta acknowledged that Arsenal must perform at their peak to achieve a favorable outcome. "If we want a very different outcome, we'd better do very different things than we did last year, especially in these fixtures," he stated.
"We know what Palace are doing, what Oliver (Glasner) is doing for the football club, and the way they are getting results.
"So it's going to be a really tough match, but we're going to play again in front of our crowd, and we are confident that if we hit our level, we have a big chance to win it."
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