Jermaine Pennant: Arsenal are in the driving seat in Premier League title race

Former Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant has told NewBettingSites.uk that he believes Arsenal are now in the driving seat to win the Premier League.

Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Pennant said: “Arsenal are now in the driving seat in the Premier League title race. It’s theirs to lose. They’re in a great position, but it’s still too early to say for sure that they’re going to win the league.

“There are so many games left and they’ve got to go to the Etihad, they’ve got Liverpool at home, they’ve got to play Chelsea twice – there’s a lot of big games left. North London derbies aren’t easy either, because a lot of the time they come down to emotion and all form goes out the window.

“Teams like Crystal Palace and Brighton can become stumbling blocks if they get complacent, we’ve already seen Palace take points off Liverpool and Chelsea and Brighton beat Manchester City. They can be banana skins.

“Then it’s down to the teams around them to capitalise and gain ground on Arsenal when they drop points. They’re only six points ahead of City and that’s nothing when there are still 28 games left of the season.

“Come the end of the season, it’ll be tight at the top of the table. Arsenal are in the driving seat, it’s theirs to lose, but by no means have they already won it.”

Arteta won’t be sacked if Arsenal go trophyless again

The former Arsenal winger doesn’t believe Mikel Arteta will face the sack if his side fails to win a trophy again this season.

“Mikel Arteta has Arsenal playing some amazing stuff,” said Pennant. “The club is in a great place compared to where they were when he took over, and that’s largely down to his management. Now he needs to start winning some silverware.

“It’s all well and good having the perfect team, structure and style of play, but if you can’t get over the finish line and win trophies then it counts for nothing and questions will be asked.

“If he doesn’t win a trophy this year then it will be a massive failure given how they’re playing at the moment and the strength in depth they have in their squad. That said, I still don’t think they’d sack him, because of the job he’s done to get them to this point.

“It’s a difficult situation because, even if he doesn’t win a trophy, how can you sack a manager who’s coming second in the Premier League and getting to the latter stages of the Champions League? He’s breaking club records and barely conceding a goal.

“It’s a bit of a catch-22. When you look at the board, do they really care about winning silverware? It seems like more of a business and they’re happy as long as the club is making money. Trophies might not be top of their agenda. It comes down to the board’s ambition. If Arteta goes trophyless again, will they look to get someone in who has a record of getting teams over the line?”

I’d pick Caicedo over Rice

Pennant weighed in on the ongoing debate between Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice, siding with the Chelsea man as the superior defensive midfielder.

“If I had to pick one of them to play as a defensive midfielder in my team, I’d go with Moises Caicedo,” he said. “I think Declan Rice is better further forward, but he can’t do what Caicedo does in that deeper role.

“I can only think of two players in the Premier League era who are on Caicedo’s level in that position: Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante. That’s his role, which has evolved in the modern game. He breaks up play, but he also plays a big part in the first phase of Chelsea’s build-up, as well as chipping in with goals and assists. At the moment, he’s the best in that role.

“He’s a proper defensive midfielder, not a number eight. Between him and Rice, if we’re talking about the defensive midfield position, I’d pick Caicedo.”