Emmanuel Eboue says three teams can still rival Arsenal for Premier League title | Football

Former Arsenal star Emmanuel Eboue is adamant that there are still three teams who can rival his old club for this season’s Premier League title.

The Gunners are six points clear at the top of the the table with 18 games to go as they continue their push for their first top-flight trophy since 2004.

Arsenal have 48 points after 20 matches this term with second-placed Manchester City and third-placed Aston Villa both on 42 points.

Current champions Liverpool are down in fourth – 14 points behind Mikel Arteta’s side – before Arsenal host the Reds in north London on Thursday.

Arsenal have finished as runners-up for the last three seasons in a row – and despite Eboue backing the Gunners to get the job done this time around – he is sure that City, Villa and Liverpool are still in the title race.

‘I think we’ve got four teams still in the title race this season,’ Eboue told Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction.

‘I think Arsenal and Manchester City will obviously be up there, but I don’t think Aston Villa or Liverpool are out of it yet.

‘Aston Villa are so close in points to the top of the table, and they’ve done incredible up to this point this season.

‘It’s going to be tough, for sure, but I don’t think you can rule them out of the title race, based on what I’ve seen so far.

‘I’d also say the same for Liverpool… yes, they started bad, but you can see they’re finding a bit more form now.

‘Look, they’re already behind Arsenal in the table, but this is such a busy period in the season, and that gap can close drastically in the space of a couple of weeks – especially when you consider Liverpool play Arsenal later this week.

‘You might look at the table right now and say if Liverpool win the league this season, then something has gone very, very wrong for Arsenal. But this is a very, very hard league, where any team is capable of taking points off you.

‘For me, Arsenal don’t have enough players to compete for every trophy, and so for that reason I’m scared… Don’t get me wrong, if Arsenal keep doing what they’re doing, then I think they’ll win the league.

‘But if they start to slip up and drop points, then I think it’s going to be very, very difficult for them – especially when they’re going up against a team like Liverpool, who have just won the league last season.

‘I still have to say Arsenal win the league though; the club is my family and I’ve loved them for so long now… I really hope that this is the year they win the title.

‘They [Arsenal] have to win the title, and when you look at the squad they currently have, it’s probably their best chance of doing it in the last few years. Look, they have been so close for three years now, and I think that if they don’t win the league this year, it’s going to be very, very hard for [Mikel] Arteta.

‘He’s under pressure now because the fans have had years of watching their team playing really good football without anything to show for it. Now, when you look at the position they’re currently in, and the fact they’ve come so close for three years in a row… if they don’t win, then supporters are going to be very, very sad about it.

‘He’s already under pressure, because there’s an expectation now for his team to win the league, which maybe hasn’t been there before. But they’re also doing really well in the Champions League, and are one of the favourites to win that competition. So if they finish the season with neither of those trophies, I think it’s going to be really difficult for him, because these supporters can’t keep waiting.’

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