Alan Shearer has stated that he believes Arsenal are the ‘favourites’ to win the Premier League title this season, after their intriguing win over Spurs.
Arsenal’s north London derby victory over Tottenham and Manchester City’s defeat to Manchester United saw the Gunners’ lead at the top of the table extend to eight points.
Mikel Arteta’s side only finished fifth last season but the Gunners look a different proposition this term, winning 15 of their 18 league games to open up a healthy gap in the title race.
Many still expect defending champions Manchester City to outclass Arsenal over the course of the season.
However, Shearer believes the Gunners are now ‘favourites’ to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004.
Will Arsenal Win The Premier League?
‘Arsenal have to be favourites to win the Premier League now,’ Shearer told BBC Sport.
‘It is very clear they are going to take some shifting from the top of the table.
‘The only thing we don’t know about Mikel Arteta’s side yet is how they will cope with being frontrunners in the second half of the season. But it doesn’t look like their inexperience of being in a title race is fazing them at the moment.
‘Their superb win over north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday was further proof of that.
‘I was really impressed with their whole team, from front to back, and it looks like they have got the required steel – plus the bit of bite and hunger – that they will need in the next few months.
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‘To be eight points clear after 18 games is a terrific achievement by this Arsenal side – and it’s fully deserved too.
‘Now they have to try to stay there, and many of their players have already learned the hard way how quickly things can change.
‘They fell away in the final weeks of last season, missing out on a top-four finish and a return to the Champions League when it was within their grasp.
‘But since the start of this campaign I’ve been saying this looks like a different Gunners team in terms of their mentality, and Arteta and his coaching team have another year’s experience too.’
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