Theo Walcott believes that Chelsea are genuine Premier League title contenders and can push Arsenal all the way.
The Blues held the league leaders to a well-deserved 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, as Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring before Mikel Merino equalised.
Enzo Maresca’s side had to play much of the encounter with 10 men after Moises Caicedo was sent off for a dangerous tackle on the Arsenal goalscorer, although Maresca claimed refereeing inconsistency at full-time.
In the Sky Sports studio afterwards, Walcott, the former Arsenal forward, said that he can see the west Londoners being there or thereabouts when it comes to challenging for the title.
“I think so,” Walcott said when asked if Arsenal should ‘fear’ the challenge of Chelsea.
“Arsenal’s problem last year was that they drew too many games. Chelsea’s this year is too many red cards.
“It’s going to play catch-up. Right now, Arsenal are very comfortable, but I do think there are more gears to come from them.
“There have been more instances this season where they have been more patient in these big games, but they just need to pick up the intensity from start to finish.
“A lot of teams can’t cope with them; they need to ask questions of each other and maybe go away from what Mikel Arteta is saying to them at times. That would be a big change for me.”
Fellow Sky pundit Daniel Sturridge was also asked if Chelsea could challenge for the Premier League title, to which the former Blues striker simply replied: “Yes”.
