A few days ago, Jurgen Klopp was asked about who he sees challenging for the PL title, and funny enough, he ignored Arsenal as a title contender. The German only mentioned Manchester City as a team guaranteed to compete for the PL title, saying as per Liverpool Echo: “We need points and a lot of them,”
“Yes, a club the size of Liverpool has to be successful. Otherwise the club has to find different solutions.
“Nobody besides maybe City can have the real target to become champions again this year. All the other teams fight for the Champions League and that’s what we do as well. The earlier you qualify for the Champions League, the higher you are in the table… if you are second and in striking distance to first then you might have a chance. I don’t know who will be there.”
Ahead of the FA Community Shield, Mikel Arteta spoke to the media on Friday and was asked about Klopp’s claims regarding the title race. In response, the Arsenal manager made it apparent that it is clear how to compete for the league, implying that anyone can do so, saying via Arsenal.com, “Well, I respect that. Obviously they [Liverpool] have shown consistency over the years and they merit that respect from everybody for what they’ve done.
“If you want to challenge for the championship, you know the total points you’re going to be needing, and this is unheard of in this league for the last 100 years. So that’s the standards and if you want to be there you know what you have to do; it’s very simple.”
Even if the Gunners did not win the league last season despite being at the top of the table for 248 days, you cannot dismiss them as a genuine title contenders next season. With the transfers Arsenal has already made (signing Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, and Kai Havertz) and the ones they want to make (adding David Raya and another one or two stars), this Arsenal team cannot be overlooked. How do you go about doing that?
It is obvious to me that Arsenal and Manchester City are the two clubs to beat in the 2022–23 Premier League season. That is not a prediction; it is just a fact.
Sam P
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