Rio Ferdinand has pinpointed the two fixtures that he believes will cost Arsenal the Premier League title, both against fierce rivals. The Gunners went into this weekend sitting at the top of the table, level on points with Liverpool but leading on goal difference, with just seven league games remaining. The title race is a tight one, with reigning champion Manchester City now ahead after beating Luton.
Despite Mikel Arteta’s men being in pole position at present, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand predicts two more losses for the Gunners before the season concludes, which he believes will cost them the title. At this stage in the competition, any dropped points could be detrimental to their title hopes.
While forecasting the remainder of Arsenal’s season for TNT Sport, Ferdinand predicted a 2-1 loss for the Gunners at local rivals Tottenham, followed by another defeat against United in the second last game of the season. The former Red Devil anticipates Erik ten Hag’s side will secure a 3-2 victory over Arteta’s team.
If the season unfolds as Ferdinand predicts, Arsenal will finish second with 86 points. Liverpool will also end up with the same points but with a lesser goal difference, leaving Pep Guardiola’s team as champions for the fourth consecutive time. Arteta’s attention is now firmly on the upcoming match against Aston Villa at the Emirates this Sunday. Despite Arsenal playing after both City and Liverpool, Arteta isn’t giving that much thought.
During his pre-match press conference, the Spanish manager stated: “We will know the results but we’ll still have our duty to win our game which is the only thing that we can control. That’s happened a few times already and it’s going to happen again in the next few weeks, so we’ll just focus on what we can do, what we can control and make sure that we perform like we have to do against a really good side to try to beat them.
