Football

Arsenal have the “resources” to win the title says Cesc Fabregas

January 23, 2023 2:00 pm

Cesc Fabregas

Former captain Cesc Fabregas has tipped Arsenal to land the Premier League title this season and is confident that the Gunners have the “resources” to take English football’s crown from Manchester City.

Arsenal re-established their five-point lead over the defending champions with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Manchester United at The Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The Gunners also have a game in hand on Pep Guardiola’s City and their current trajectory puts them on course for a 100-point campaign. Arsenal are targeting their first Premier League title in 19 years and the Londoners are currently playing with the swagger of potential champions.

Fabregas backs old club to land English football’s biggest prize

Cesc Fabregas was in North London to witness Arsenal’s dramatic success against Man Utd on Sunday and speaking to Sky Sports in the aftermath of the contest, the Spaniard said:

“They [City] will [try to] hunt them down for sure, but I still believe that Arsenal have the resources to win the league this year.

“They have a manager that knows what he’s doing, they have a manager that will put pressure on his players, and what I like today with this young group of players was in the last five minutes they handled the game really well.

“You see Nketiah going into the corner [to wind down the clock] and before maybe in my years we wouldn’t have done that, we would have just tried to play and score a fourth. I really like that mentality, they know exactly what they’re doing, and I think it feels it’s the right moment and the right group of players to achieve that.”

Arsenal pass another tough title test

Manchester United remain the only team in the Premier League to have beaten Arsenal in 2022/23, though the Gunners exacted some revenge for their 3-1 defeat to the Red Devils at Old Trafford in September with their pulsating triumph at The Emirates on Sunday.

Driven on by the creative passing of Martin Odegaard, the incisive wing play of Bukayo Saka and the predatory finishing of Eddie Nkeitiah, Arsenal racked up 25 attempts to United’s six at the weekend, and thoroughly deserved to take maximum points from the crunch encounter.

Arsenal fought back brilliantly from a goal down to establish a lead over United in the second half, and they showed their resilience again when the visitors forced an equalizer just before the hour mark.

The hosts pressed, pushed and ultimately broke down a United side that looked increasingly jaded from their midweek exploits against Palace and from the incessant waves of Arsenal attacks.

Arsenal strengthen at the right time

With recent signing Leandro Trossard looking the part as a late substitute on his debut against United and another new acquisition watching on from the stands in defender Jakub Kiwior, Arsenal’s title surge has been strengthened in two positions, and the Gunners still have the return of Brazilian attacker Gabriel Jesus to look forward to in March.

Mikel Arteta’s troops looked fresh and full of running in Sunday’s win, though an injection of new blood should allow the Spanish coach to rotate with a little more confidence, which should in turn help the club to maintain their searing pace at the summit of the table.

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