Gary Lineker believes that Manchester City were the real winners after title-challenging rivals Arsenal and Liverpool dropped points against one another.
Despite only being nine games into the Premier League season, it seems as though Pep Guardiola’s City, alongside both the Reds and Gunners, look to be the standout contenders for the league title
City remain unbeaten while Liverpool – who sit one point behind them – had won all but one of their matches upon arriving at the Emirates on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s team then played out a stunning stalemate against the visitors, and though it reaffirmed people’s opinions that either side could potentially go on to lift the league trophy
Lineker believes that City were the true winners of the clash, having seen their rivals drop points whilst picking up three themselves against Southampton.
Lineker
“I suppose the winners of today’s [Sunday’s] game were Manchester City, in a way,”
Micah Richards was swift to add details of City’s 1-0 triumph against the Saints, replying: “I think with Man City, [people were] expecting Haaland to score two to three, and they missed quite a few chances, didn’t they?
“But, they just find a way. I've said it many times with Man City, I think a lot of people look at Man City and think they're gonna blow everyone away.
“Pep was really impressed with the way they played and the setup. I think he was giving more credit to Southampton and how they played.
“They just found a way to win, and that’s what great teams do. They’re just going along nicely.”
Despite such praise, Lineker was also very complimentary of Arne Slot, who has so far led his title-challenging side to second in in the table
Lineker added
“Liverpool once again showed they’re definitely going to be a force once again this season,"
"I know Arsenal edged it in the first half, but he [Slot] shifted things again, and he pushed Trent more into midfield.
“Then, in the second half, when they were trailing, that kind of made a difference - obviously a fantastic pass from Trent that led to the goal
“In some ways, it's not just seeing Liverpool, it's seeing how the manager handles things post-Klopp, which we’ve also mentioned numerous times.
“He’s got a calmness about him, doesn’t he? He just seems to be in control; he makes decisions, he brings people on, and changes the game in certain ways, tactically as well.”
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