Alan Shearer identifies major advantage Arsenal have over Man City in title race (original) (raw)

Arsenal saw out a gritty 1-0 win in the North London derby over Tottenham Hotspur - and Alan Shearer is convinced their defence is the best he's seen in the Premier League this year

Gabriel scored the winner on Sunday, and has helped Arsenal to three clean sheets in four matches so far

Alan Shearer is convinced that Arsenal's defence is above Manchester City's - a sign that bodes well for them in this year's title race.

Arsenal saw off north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday afternoon with a gritty 1-0 win, courtesy of centre-half Gabriel's towering header in the 64th minute. While the Gunners were without key players in Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, they still secured all three points and kept up the pressure on City.

Former Newcastle United striker Shearer believes that Mikel Arteta's backline are the key to their success - even claiming that Arsenal have the best defence in the league.

Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, Shearer said: "I think once Arsenal go 1-0 up against you, they're tough to get back, because they are - they've got the best back four in the Premier League, without a shadow of a doubt.

"They don't give hardly anything away, Spurs just kept trying to put hopeful balls into the box and Arsenal dealt with it easily. They deserved the three points Arsenal, without playing particularly well, which has to be a good sign."

Arsenal have kept three clean sheets in four games so far, including twice away from home against Aston Villa and Spurs.Podcast co-host Gary Lineker has claimed the partnership between Gabriel and William Saliba has been key to their success, as he said: "It certainly does, I think, I mean we've mentioned Saliba a lot but that partnership with him and Gabriel is very strong as you just said Alan.

"I mean, Gabriel's a warrior, isn't he? He's a player you'd really want on your side and he does chip in with the odd goal."

Gabriel is part of a solid Arsenal defence that has kept three clean sheets so far this season (

Image:

Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Lineker, Shearer, and fellow pundit Micah Richards also discussed the possibility that Gabriel's goal could've been ruled out for a foul on Cristian Romero. Lineker added: "Although, a bit of a push? [Was it] a bit of a push?"

Shearer disagreed, as he said: "Nah! I mean, he's got to be stronger hasn't he? Goodness me, Romero, wasn't he the one who had a little appeal, didn't he?"

However, Richards wasn't so sure, as he noted: "It probably was [a foul]. It was for me, I would've went 55/45 I would say in favour of a foul, I would say. I don't like seeing fouls given for that, but he did push him, he definitely pushed him."

Shearer believes that Arsenal have the best defence in the league (

Image:

Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Lineker added: "They [the referees] were never going to turn that one over though!" Arsenal are back in Champions League business this week as they take on Atalanta on Thursday before heading to the Etihad for a top two showdown with Manchester City on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Spurs are in Carabao Cup action with an away tie against Championship side Coventry City on Wednesday, before they host Brentford on Saturday.

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