Gary Lineker is now backing Arsenal to win the Premier League this season, ahead of Manchester City, given the Gunners’ impressive squad depth.
Arsenal’s title bid suffered a minor setback away at Villa Park as the North Londoners slipped to a late defeat in the Midlands.
That allowed Manchester City the chance to move back within just two points of Mikel Arteta’s team, and they did so by beating Sunderland.
Following the defeat, question marks were raised over Arsenal’s title credentials as they faltered in back-to-back games against Villa and Chelsea.
How many points will Arsenal take from these next five Premier League matches?
Next up for Arsenal is a home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the Gunners will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing the Premier League’s bottom-placed team.
Ahead of the clash, Lineker has been speaking about the title race, and he is not buying the narrative that the Gunners are no longer favourites.
Gary Lineker hails Arsenal’s squad depth
Gary Lineker is confident that Arsenal’s squad depth is going to be the telling factor in the race for the Premier League title.
This season, Arteta has so many strong options at his disposal all despite several key players picking up injuries.
When asked about City’s title chances, Lineker told The Obi One Podcast: “I’m leaning a bit more towards I think Arsenal could bring them really close. I just think they’ve got the strength in depth, and they’ve bought well.
“But I think we might have a title race this year, which we need. I think City never, never ever underestimate Pep.”
Change our mind – Noni Madueke was Arsenal’s best summer signing by an absolute mile… 👀
Over the summer, Andrea Berta did fantastic work improving both the quality and depth of Arteta’s squad at the Emirates Stadium.
The Italian director signed seven new stars for Arsenal, including the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke.
Mikel Arteta now has exceptional attacking depth at Arsenal
The Gunners are now particularly strong in attack, with Madueke really impressing Thierry Henry away at Club Brugge.
Even with Leandro Trossard missing due to injury, Arsenal still have Madueke, Eze and Gabriel Martinelli, who can all play off the left.
During the Gunners’ win over Brugge, Martin Keown wants to see Saka and Madueke start on the wings for Arsenal.
Elsewhere up front, Gabriel Jesus’ return to action means Arteta now has Gyokeres, Mikel Merino and the Brazilian to pick between.
Jesus looked really sharp in the 28 minutes he played against Brugge, and his return just served as a reminder of the quality which he still possesses.
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