Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho has ruled out Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League title this season, and claims Manchester City are still the favourites to retain the crown.
After defeating Brighton 2-0, the Gunners finished the weekend at the top of the table, followed by Liverpool and Aston Villa who trailed by one point. Meanwhile, City let a two-goal lead slip away at home against Crystal Palace and are now five points off the top spot.
At this time last season, Arsenal were also ahead of City by five points. But the treble winners pulled away in the second half of the season to win the league for the third time in a row.
Though, according to The Metro, Mourinho said he would prefer to see Arsenal make it a three-horse race, but believes that City’s amazing squad depth—enough to field two world-class XIs—will ultimately see them over the finish line once again. Though, he claims Liverpool will be their closest rival.
When former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel asked who would win the Premier League on his podcast, The Obi One, Mourinho responded: ‘Man City 51 [per cent] and Liverpool 49.’
When asked if league leaders Arsenal are in the conversation, Mourinho pulled a face and simply replied: ‘Na.’
Mikel burst out laughing at his old manager’s bluntness, saying: ‘The rivalry is still there!’
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Mourinho continued: ‘But it is not the rivalry… it isn’t the right moment [for them].’
When Mikel suggested the north Londoners ‘always capitulate’, Mourinho replied: ‘Honestly, rivalry apart because I can do it, I would like them to win, I would like a third [team in the title race].
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