- Arsenal moved three points away from Liverpool and four from Manchester City
- The Gunners swept away Chelsea in a devastating 5-0 victory at the Emirates.
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Rio Ferdinand has praised Arsenal’s resilience after reasserting themselves in the Premier League title race, following defeats to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich that left their season at stake.
The former Manchester United defender praised the composure of Gunners manager Mikel Arteta after watching his team thrash Chelsea 5-0 to move three points clear at the top.
Arsenal have played one more game than Liverpool, who face Everton on Wednesday, and two more than Manchester City, who trail them by four points.
“What I would say is that there seems to be an air of confidence, firmness, I think something has been learned from last year.”
‘His [Arteta] composure in the week we had the week before, where they lost against Aston Villa and lost against Bayern Munich, leaving them out of the Champions League.
Rio Ferdinand has been impressed by the way Arsenal have bounced back from their recent setbacks.
Mikel Arteta’s team is three points clear at the top of the Premier League
“You wouldn’t be mad if your wheels fell off, you just go, you know, I expected that, but the way you regained your composure, but also his team on the field, has been something for me, a new respect for him in this stage.
“Yes, they still have a lot of work to do and they still have to get over the line and win the league, but I think even that small area is a big change from last season.”
On a perfect night at the Emirates, goals from Leandro Trossard, Ben White and Kai Havertz (the latter pair scoring two each) revived hopes of a first league title in 20 years.
Arsenal also reinforced their best goal difference in the league with the emphatic victory, moving 13 clear of second-best Liverpool and a further goal ahead of City.
Kai Havertz scored a brace in a 5-0 rout of his former team at the Emirates on Tuesday.
Gunners fans will be hoping their rivals make mistakes in this week’s matches. Jurgen Klopp’s team travel to Goodison Park, where they have drawn five of their last six visits.
Meanwhile, City will travel to the Amex to face Brighton, who will be hoping to capitalize on the points lost by Chelsea in the race for European qualification.
