Following the draw with Liverpool FC, Rio Ferdinand identifies Man City’s Premier League biggest threat 

At the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, Manchester City and Liverpool were unable to be separated as the top two teams shared the points.

Rio Ferdinand, a former centre back for Manchester United, thinks Arsenal poses the biggest challenge to Manchester City’s chances of winning the Premier League again this year.

On Saturday, City made their Premier League comeback with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool. Just before the interval, Erling Haaland gave the Blues the lead as the hosts took advantage of an error made by Alisson.

After the break, Pep Guardiola’s team believed they had added another goal, but Ruben Dias’ effort was disallowed due to a foul on the opposition’s custodian. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s goal to split the points with 10 minutes left would come back to haunt the Blues.

During Saturday’s evening match, the Gunners defeated Brentford by a slim 1-0 margin, taking the lead in the league. Arsenal advanced to 30 points as Kai Havertz scored a late winner.

Ferdinand gave TNT Sports an explanation of why Mikel Arteta’s team is City’s biggest opponent this year following the game. “The two centre-backs (Gabriel and William Saliba) are the reason why I would put Arsenal ahead of Liverpool in the title race to challenge Man City,” he stated.

“I believe those two are really good. They are completely trustworthy, and based on their current style of play, it appears that their alliance will only get stronger.

“They don’t mind getting into fights when they travel to areas like this. That’s also a significant difference.

“Some players have a good appearance when things are going well. Nonetheless, it speaks something about them as a team that these individuals don’t mind getting their hands dirty and doing the unpleasant work.”

More news……

As Xabi Alonso makes Liverpool case clear Every Premier League club’s ideal next manager

Rumours that Xabi Alonso may eventually succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool have been inspired by his work at Bayer Leverkusen, but many other Premier League teams are keeping an eye out for their own replacements.

Every Premier League team’s succession plans are being closely examined as speculation grows that Liverpool may make a move for Xabi Alonso at the appropriate time.

Since taking over at Bayer Leverkusen in October of last year, Alonso has performed admirably, leading the team to the top of the Bundesliga. Due to this, he has risen up the list of Klopp’s possible successors at Anfield should the German decide to go; his contract expires in 2026.

Steven Gerrard was considered the favourite for a very long time, but his managerial career has taken a terrible turn. Mirror Football examines who could take over as manager of each Premier League team in the event that the present manager steps down.

Arsenal: Jack Wilshere

Having orchestrated an unexpected title challenge the previous season, Mikel Arteta is a reliable member of the Arsenal team. Since Arteta is expected to stay at the Emirates for a considerable amount of time, a young, up-and-coming player will probably take over as manager. Like Arteta, Jack Wilshere is a former midfielder for Arsenal, making him seem like the ideal replacement.

He is now gaining experience as a manager with the Gunners’ Under-18 team, and he is probably already being considered to replace Arteta.

At Aston Villa, where Unai Emery is quite unlikely to be fired anytime soon, the situation is much the same. Emery’s outstanding work at Villa Park may, however, attract the attention of a larger team. Villa will probably look to a progressive boss who has demonstrated their abilities if that occurs. That may lead them to Enzo Maresca, who has shown promise with Leicester, who will take over as manager for the first time and lead them to the top of the Championship.

When Bournemouth fired Gary O’Neil in the summer and brought in Andoni Iraola, it seemed as though they were making a significant tactical shift. Since then, the Spaniard has had difficulty, despite the Cherries’ recent success. Bournemouth seems likely to remain with the same approach when Iraola leaves, which suggests Kjetil Knutsen as a possible replacement. With three Norwegian titles under his belt at Bodo/Glimt, Knutsen has shown promise, and a move to Bournemouth seems inevitable.

Graham potter (Brentford)

Given their knowledge of Brentford, they will most likely find an unidentified manager to be the next Pep Guardiola by out of the blue. To save time, though, consider Graham Potter, a more well-known employer, as Thomas Frank’s potential replacement. Needless to say, things did not end well at Chelsea, but in his Brighton tenure, Potter showed he was capable of leading a team the size of Brentford. Given Potter’s shown ability to build a progressive team, Frank would be a logical choice to succeed him.

Bruno Saltor (Brighton)

It seems like Roberto De Zerbi will stay at Brighton, unless a major team makes a move to sign him. Should that occur, the Seagulls may consider a well-known individual to succeed the highly esteemed Italian. That man is Bruno Saltor, a player at Brighton who went on to become a legend. He coached under Graham Potter at both the Seagulls and Chelsea, thus he is well-versed in the style of game Brighton management are after.