Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand says he ‘can’t see anyone’ taking the Premier League trophy away from Arsenal this season.
Mikel Arteta’s side won the Premier League by seven points last season to clinch the club’s first title since 2004.
The Gunners are short favourites to go back-to-back in the Premier League with a number of their potential title rivals possible going through transitional periods.
Arsenal, who have bolstered Arteta’s squad with the signings of Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis and Ezri Konsa, began their title defence with a routine 3-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry City.
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Manchester City looked set to taste defeat in their first Premier League game since Pep Guardiola’s departure after trailing Bournemouth for over an hour at the Etihad Stadium.
But late goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol gave Enzo Maresca a morale-boosting win in his first Premier League match in charge of Man City.
Liverpool and Chelsea also came into the season with new managers, with Andoni Iraola replacing title-winning manager Arne Slot at Anfield and Xabi Alonso taking charge at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester United are slightly more settled in the dugout but Michael Carrick has still been at Old Trafford for less than a year since replacing Ruben Amorim.
United were tipped as possible dark horses for the Premier League title by some pundits but Carrick’s side endured a dismal start to the campaign, losing 2-0 to newly-promoted Hull City.
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Ferdinand knows what it take to win the Premier League, having done so six times during his time at Manchester United.
The former England defender fully expects Arsenal to retain their Premier League crown and doubts even Manchester City, the dominant force in English football over the past decade, will challenge the Gunners.
‘It was what I expected from Arsenal,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel when asked about their Premier League opener against Coventry.
‘Solid, hard to play against, shut down the opposition and then fed on some mistakes and punished them. They played like champions.
