The Gunners extended their lead at the summit to six points following a dominant 4-1 victory over arch-rivals Tottenham at the Emirates on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s men, who have finished second in recent campaigns, now appear well-positioned to finally break their long-standing title drought. ..Continue Reading
Defending champions Liverpool seem far from their best, with a concerning 3-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest marking Arne Slot’s sixth defeat in seven league outings.
Meanwhile, Manchester City saw their title ambitions take a hit after Pep Guardiola’s side fell 2-1 away to Newcastle.
With City and Liverpool trailing by seven and 11 points respectively, it is Chelsea who currently sit closest to Arsenal in second place.
Enzo Maresca’s team secured a third consecutive win and clean sheet with a 2-0 triumph at Burnley on Saturday, setting up a crucial clash when they host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge next weekend.
Terry believes his former club may be the only side capable of mounting a serious challenge to the Gunners this season.
“A big game at the weekend now as Arsenal come to the Bridge where it’s going to be a very big game,” Terry said in a video on TikTok.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be a title decider but I think it’s going to be one of the two teams [who win the league].
“For me, Liverpool are 100 per cent out of the title race. Liverpool look they’re really struggling at the moment.”
Reflecting on Chelsea’s gritty win over Burnley, he added: “A good away from the boys, really important to pick up the three points, especially after sustaining a little bit of pressure in the first half from Burnley.
“I said they would try and hit us on the counterattack and they definitely did that in the first half and we had three unbelievable blocks defensively.
“I think the only thing for me in the second half we probably needed to take our chances, especially when we come up against the bigger and better sides.”
While Terry remains optimistic about Chelsea’s prospects, not everyone shares his view. Gary Neville remains skeptical, predicting that Chelsea will eventually fall out of the title picture.
He told Sky Sports: “That will be really interesting for Chelsea next week and a good measure for them. What we’ll see with Chelsea during the season is they’ll win a lot of football matches that we think they should do.
“They’ll tease us and they’ll get close but then they will drop points and maybe drop down to fifth or sixth and then come up to fourth.
“That’s where we’ll see them move between sixth and second and third and that where we’ll see Chelsea operate in the season.
“Champions League football, they’ve got quite a lot of young players, they’ve spent a fortune so it’s probably not happening as quickly as they want to I don’t think they are anywhere near a team that can win the league yet. They look well short in a couple of areas.
“But they’re good, they’re a good team. They are not a great side, I don’t think they’ve got great players.
“They’re a good team with a good squad and should be with the investment they’ve made and I think they will finish in the top four.
“They will get close and they’ll tease us and have us thinking are they the closest challengers but I don’t think that will emerge as the season goes on. But next weekend is a real tough test and that’s where you find out about these types of teams.
“Chelsea will want to win the title in the next couple of years but they don’t seem close to it at this moment.”
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