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.
Ferdinand's verdict on title rivals
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.
'A period of dominance'
Ferdinand knows what it takes 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.
'I don't see anyone being able to challenge Arsenal this season. They're the only team with stability. Everyone else has had big changes.
'Man City have lost their manager and the most important player in football [Barcelona summer signing Rodri] so I don't see them challenging or being as close as they've been in recent years.
'Liverpool and Chelsea have got new managers so there's uncertainty there. Man United are still in a transition and a rebuild under a fairly new manager.
'The experience Mikel Arteta has compared to the others is night and day. He knows how to win now as well.
'Not many managers have won back-to-back Premier League titles but I think Mikel Arteta is going to join that club. I think this is going to be a period of dominance for Arsenal.'
Praise for new signings
Ferdinand also praised the signings of Tzolis from Club Brugge and Konsa from fellow Premier League club Aston Villa. 'Konsa is an unbelievable signing, a phenomenal signing for that price,' Ferdinand added. 'He's sound, steady, durable… amazing signing.
'The new signing on the left-wing looked really impressive again as well, that's a good acquisition.'
Arsenal will look to make it two wins from two next Monday night when they face Aston Villa, who were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton in their Premier League opener.
