Mikel Arteta clear on Arsenal's standing as title race turns onto final straight
It is 10 years since the Premier League last had a three-horse title race.
Back then, Jose Mourinho described Chelsea as the “little horse”, doing his best to play down expectation levels. The Special One’s attempt to ease the pressure on his players ultimately did not pay off, as Chelsea failed to match the pace of eventual champions Manchester City and second-placed Liverpool in the final furlong.
Fast forward to this season and Arsenal are seen as the outsiders in many quarters, behind leaders Liverpool and reigning champions Manchester City. But Mikel Arteta's men have the chance to go top by beating Brentford on Saturday, with Liverpool and City facing each other at Anfield on Sunday.
And if Arsenal do the business with an eighth consecutive win, and Liverpool and City play out a draw, it will mean only one point will separate the top three with ten games left.
That could make it the most exciting and open three-way title race in Premier League history. Since the competition began in 1992, there have only been ten three-horse title races, with the definition being a maximum of three points separating the top three at least 28 games into the season.
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Arsenal have been involved in six of those ten three-way battles - but only won the title once in 2002. Chelsea have mixed it in five, only emerging on top in 2010. Manchester United, meanwhile, are the kings, having won seven titles from nine involvements in a three-horse race.
The Gunners were actually top of the table for 128 days in the 2013/14 season but did not even make the final three, as they were thrashed 5-1 at Liverpool in February and fell apart before hanging on for the fourth Champions League place.
Arteta’s side led the table for 248 days last season - including during the Qatar World Cup - which is the most for any team that then failed to win the title.
Arsenal are in the mix to win the title this season (James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)Arsenal were the ones being chased down by City last season. But that could change after this weekend, a point not lost on Arteta who almost cast Arsenal as this season’s “little horse”.
“We are third at the moment and we are competing with two of the most successful clubs in Europe in the last decade,” said the Gunners boss. “They have set the standards that no one else has been capable of. But what we have to do is try to improve and do better than them.
“What I enjoy is to be fighting for big trophies in this period and we want to do the same when it gets to May. That is our objective. It will never stop - the demands and the number of points that are going to be needed. That will be so high.”
Arsenal’s title challenge fell apart last season with consecutive draws to Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton before they got thumped 4-1 at Manchester City.
After facing Brentford and then Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday they will have a 19-day gap before going to the Etihad on March 31. Another crucial chapter as the three-horse race heads down the final stretch.
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