Rio Ferdinand would ‘love’ to see Arsenal finish lower in the Premier League than Chelsea.
Rio Ferdinand would ‘love to see’ Chelsea finish above Arsenal this season and sees no chance the Gunners can repeat as Premier League champions.
Mikel Arteta’s team led for the duration of the season, but they were eventually reeled in and overtaken by Manchester City in the home straight, and the season ended with a whimper.
Arsenal responded in the summer transfer market with a great display of desire, breaking their transfer record to recruit former West Ham captain, as well as Kai Havertz and keeper David Raya.
Jurrien Timber, another new recruit, was ruled out for months earlier this week with a major knee injury, dealing a blow to Arteta.
Arsenal will miss the Dutchman terribly, but Ferdinand believes they will finish ahead of their London rivals, despite Chelsea’s own record purchasing binge, but not enough to end their 20-year quest for a title.
‘Arsenal to finish below Chelsea?’ he said on TNT Sport. As much as I’d like to see it, it’s not going to happen.
‘Arsenal were fantastic last season. Arteta was fantastic, and the recruitment has been fantastic as well.
‘They’ve arguably had one of the greatest strongest transfer windows up to this moment. “Declan Rice, Timber, and Havertz all significantly improved the squad’s depth and quality.
‘I think they’ll be in the top three this year, but they won’t win the league.’
The Gunners face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night, and it is unclear whether new goalie Raya will make his debut.
Given the success of Aaron Ramsdale since his arrival from Sheffield United, the decision to bring in the Spaniard raised eyebrows, but Arteta feels that additional competition will only benefit his side in the long run.
‘There were questions when we had different keepers,’ Arteta stated in his pre-match press conference. ‘Having two superb keepers is fantastic; there’s nothing wrong with that. We have two excellent left wingers, two excellent strikers, and two excellent holding midfielders. We have Jorginho, Thomas, and Declan, which is not and should not be a problem.
‘We want to be better every day, and in order to be better, the environment must adapt and improve. We have a tendency to stay at a given level since it is in our nature – when you change the environment, and the environment is to be 100% every day, believe me, the level will rise.
‘I’ve seen that close up with my own eyes with the players that we have now, compared to the players we had two years ago. If we want to be better, we have to create that environment.’
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