‘No chance’ – Wayne Rooney makes title prediction as Arsenal lead Man City | Football
Wayne Rooney has revealed his latest Premier League title prediction and given Aston Villa ‘no chance’ of finishing above Arsenal or Manchester City.
Arsenal, without a Premier League title since 2004, still have a two-point lead at the top of the table despite seeing their advantage cut in recent weeks.
Mikel Arteta’s side had dropped point in three of their past five games before Saturday’s dramatic 2-1 victory over bottom-placed Wolves.
Arsenal briefly had a five-point lead in the title race but Manchester City cut the deficit with an impressive 3-0 win at FA Cup winners Crystal Palace later in the weekend.
The Gunners are also facing competition for the title from their former manager Unai Emery, who has taken Aston Villa to third in the league, just three points behind the leaders.
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Despite Villa’s impressive form – which has seen them win 10 of their last 11 Premier League games – Rooney says there is ‘no chance’ of the Midlands club winning the title.
The ex-Manchester Unites and England striker therefore believes it will be a straight shootout between Arsenal and Man City and has tipped the Gunners to clinch the title for the first time in 22 years.
‘I still think Arsenal are the favourites to win the league but it’s going to be really interesting if Man City stay close to them,’ Rooney, a five-time Premier League winner, said on his BBC podcast.
‘That will bring back memories for the Arsenal players of having the lead before and Liverpool or Man City snatching it off them. It will be interesting.
‘Arsenal are still favourites for me but City are looking good. I still fancy Arsenal with the squad they have but City are looking good and dangerous again and that could disturb Arsenal come the end of the season.
‘I hope it doesn’t, I would love Arsenal to win it, but that would be my concern if I was an Arsenal fan. The Arsenal players would be crazy if they weren’t worried about Man City.’
Asked if he viewed Aston Villa as genuine contenders for the title, Rooney added: ‘No, no. If we’re realistic, no.
‘What the manager is doing is incredible. They lost a couple of players in the summer with [Marcus] Rashford and [Marco] Asensio leaving and the fans weren’t happy.
‘They had a poor start but the players have really turned it around. In terms of the title race, there’s no chance they will finish above Man City or Arsenal.’
Who will win the Premier League title?
Ex-Premier League manager Tim Sherwood agrees with Rooney’s assessment of the title race, insisting Arsenal are still ‘favourites’ and downplaying Aston Villa’s credentials.
‘Winning ugly is sometimes important and that was very ugly from Arsenal,’ Sherwood said on Premier League Productions. ‘I thought it would be a lot more comfortable than it turned out but they struggled, they really did.
‘They didn’t manage the game very well. We’re in December and they got edgy, they got nervous. The title race hasn’t even started yet and they’re doing that in December.
‘Mikel Arteta isn’t telling them to drop off but we all sort it coming. Too nervy for me, they’re that nervous and the Christmas turkey hasn’t even been carved yet.
‘What are they going to be like when it actually counts? It’s going to be panic stations. They haven’t done it before either so they need to get that trait out of them.
‘You can’t win the title now but you can certainly put yourself out of the race. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Arsenal this season and think they’re in it for the long haul.’
Asked whether Arsenal were still his favourites to win the Premier League, Sherwood added: ‘Yeah, but that game is still fresh in my mind and I didn’t like what I saw.
‘I was a little bit worried for them there. It’s going to get more edgy and more anxious and they can’t afford to show that type of anxiety on the pitch.
‘Everything is waiting for them to fail and waiting for them to bottle it – I’m not, I hope they go and win the league.
‘Mikel Arteta is a great manager and they have a great squad – they’re capable of winning it.’
Pressed on Aston Villa’s hopes of lifting the Premier League trophy, Sherwood replied: ‘They might not have the strength in depth.
‘The only team who won’t get edgy is the team who’s been there and done it many, many times and that’s the team chasing Arsenal at the minute, Man City.’
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‘No chance’ – Wayne Rooney makes title prediction as Arsenal lead Man City | Football
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