Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has named Arsenal as his side's "number one" rivals for the Premier League title this season.
The Gunners have been the surprise package this season and currently find themselves top of the table after collecting 10 wins in 12 games. Mikel Arteta's side have been City's main threat to their ambitions of retaining the Premier League title for a fifth time in six seasons with Liverpool struggling to match the form from previous campaigns.
Arsenal have lost just once in the league this season and sit two points above Guardiola's men going into this weekend's round of fixtures. The Gunners travel to Chelsea tomorrow afternoon in a mouth-watering London derby while the Citizens host Fulham at the Etihad Stadium later today (3pm).
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City's dominance since the Spaniard arrived in 2016 has seen them average 92 points each season and last missed out on lifting the title in 2020 after falling short against a Liverpool side who were firing on all cylinders. The summer signing of Erling Haaland has took Guardiola's side to the next level, with the Norwegian scoring 22 goals in 16 appearances all season, but it's the Gunners who look to lead the way ahead of the World Cup break.
With Arteta previously working with City prior to taking the Gunners job, Guardiola has acknowledged the threat that Arsenal present themselves with whilst also refusing to rule out Liverpool's chance of re-entering the title race. Speaking to the media ahead of Fulham, Guardiola said: "In the past, the same manager and same squad [Liverpool] were able to make 17 victories in a row, 18 victories in a row many times.
"In these last few years, many times they have done it, why could they not do it again?
"Nobody knows what will happen after the World Cup, in the transfer window and how players will come back.
"The first candidate right now is Arsenal. Why? They are top of the league. The gap to the rest is close."
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