Rio Ferdinand has revealed two concerns for Arsenal as they chase a long-awaited Premier League title under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal looked impenetrable during the first few months of the season but dropped points in three of their last five games has brought them back to the chasing pack.
Mikel Arteta’s side drew 2-2 with Sunderland at the start of last month before failing to beat ten-man Chelsea at the end of November.
Arsenal suffered just their second defeat of the season on Saturday, losing 2-1 to Aston Villa thanks to Emiliano Buendia’s dramatic last-minute winner.
The Gunners are now just two points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and three ahead of their last opponents, Aston Villa and ex-Arsenal manager Unai Emery.
Ferdinand had downplayed Arsenal’s recent wobble and still expects the Gunners to become Premier League champions for the first time since 2004.
However, Ferdinand, a winner of six league titles at Manchester United, says it is less than ideal for Arsenal that Man City are so close despite being ‘bang average this season’.
Ferdinand also says Arsenal’s injury record is a cause for concern, with Arteta having to make do without a number of first-team stars.
‘Arsenal are only two points above Man City, who have been bang average this season, and three above Aston Villa,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
‘Arsenal fans are so up and down, it’s unbelievable. I still think Arsenal will win the league. I do.
‘They’re making hard work of it now but what team doesn’t go through those spells at some point?
‘The injuries are killing Arsenal but I still think they win the title. Arsenal fans are so up and down which is understandable because they’ve been starved off success.
‘But I think they get over the line and it could be the start of something special for that team.’
Ferdinand’s former teammate Paul Scholes has also warned Arsenal of the threat of Manchester City, who won four league titles in a row before finishing third last season.
‘Man City have a great chance now, don’t they?’ Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
‘I still don’t think they’re quite right but they always get better in the second-half of the season and the thing with Arsenal is they can’t win a big game.
‘Until they start winning big games they’ve got no chance of winning the league.
‘They lost to Liverpool, they couldn’t beat Man City at home when they were struggling. Aston Villa are a good team, don’t get me wrong, but Arsenal just can’t win big games. They couldn’t beat Chelsea after they went down to ten men.
‘If you’re going to win the league you’ve got to start winning some big games, you’ve got to beat your rivals, and they can’t do it.
‘Historically Man City always get better after January. They were in the Club World Cup so they didn’t really have a pre-season.’
Arsenal return to Premier League action on Saturday against bottom-placed Wolves following a midweek Champions League clash at Club Brugge.