Sven-Goran Eriksson has made his Premier League title prediction (Pictures: Getty)
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has made his Premier League title prediction after Arsenal moved four points clear of defending champions Manchester City.
The Gunners have enjoyed a sensational start to the 2022-23 season, winning 12 of their first 13 games in all competitions to climb to the top of the Premier League table and take control of their Europa League group.
Arsenal secured a narrow 1-0 win over Leeds United on Sunday and find themselves four points ahead of Man City after the reigning champions saw their unbeaten record ended by Liverpool later in the day.
Tottenham are level on points with Manchester City in third, while Chelsea and Manchester United are fourth and fifth respectively.
Asked for his prediction on the Premier League title race, Eriksson told OLBG: ‘I think Arsenal can win the league. But if you look at the squad, Manchester City are outstanding.
‘They can change almost 11 players and you don’t notice it. For me, the big favourites are still Man City.
‘There are many games to play, but congratulations to Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, it’s been a very long time since they won the Premier League.
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‘It’s good to see, a big and important club with a fantastic history. I think they will fight to win the league, but I still think Manchester City will do it.’
Manchester City are trailing Arsenal in the Premier League despite summer signing Erling Haaland scoring 20 goals in his first 13 games under Pep Guardiola.
Eriksson has revealed his admiration for ‘outstanding’ Haaland and says he has the potential to become ‘one of the greatest players ever’.
‘If he goes on like this, Erling Haaland will be the top scorer,’ the 74-year-old added. ‘Haaland is a great player, and is outstanding in the box.
‘He’s playing in the right team because the ball is always in the last third. They build up and keep the ball, so he will have so many opportunities and he’s taking them.
‘He’s physically strong, quick, a good header of the ball and finisher too, he has everything. If he doesn’t lose his head, which is very important, and he doesn’t get bad injuries then I think he’ll be one of the greatest ever.
‘Of course he won’t win a World Cup with Norway but he will win a lot of titles, especially if he stays at Manchester City.’
Eriksson, who was in charge of England from 2001 to 2006, also gave his thoughts on Chelsea and their highly-rated manager Graham Potter.
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Chelsea’s American owners were largely questioned after sacking Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel after just seven games of the season, but Potter has enjoyed a superb start to his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
‘I think Graham Potter will be a success at Chelsea,’ Eriksson said. ‘He was manager of a smaller team in Sweden, Ostersund, and did very well in Europe against Arsenal.
‘The job he did there was fantastic, to take that team to Europe and have success, and that doesn’t happen unless you’re a top manager. So I consider him a very good manager, and I am sure he will do a good job for Chelsea.’
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The defending champions are under pressure.