Arsenal Manager Arteta Insists Manchester City Are Title Favourites
Mikel Arteta insists Manchester City are the favourites to win the Premier League title, and they always have been.
Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta reacts at the end of the English Premier League football match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north-west England, on February 4, 2023.
After a long time sitting atop the Premier League table, Arsenal dropped out of top spot with a defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night.
At the time of writing, the Gunners are only in second place on goal difference, and they have a game in hand to earn a point or more and return to the top.
But in the current slump, with no wins in four matches in all competitions, picking up those points is looking increasingly difficult.
When asked whether Arsenal were no longer favourites for the title on Friday, Mikel Arteta insisted they never had been.
“I don’t think we have ever been favourites, I don’t think that has changed,” Arteta said.
“Man City have been the number one candidates from day one because they have been in that position for much of the last five years.”
City are certainly the current favourites with bookmakers, despite Arsenal’s advantage of the extra fixture.
The Gunners will play that extra game at the beginning of March, at home to Everton, so the table should give a better reflection of the two teams’ positions from then on.
