Olaleye Idowu
Arsenal legend, Ray Parlour has backed the club to bounce back in their Premier League clash against Liverpool.
Arsenal face the Reds at home on Sunday as the two teams are currently ranked close to each other in the league table.
Liverpool are leading the league table with 21 points to their name, while Arsenal are in third spot, with 17 points in their kitty.
The gap between City, who are second with 22 points and Arsenal, was exacerbated when Mikel Arteta’s side lost 0-2 to Bournemouth last weekend.
Parlour told Goal that Arsenal have what it takes to challenge for the Premier League title.
“Arsenal need to bounce back after the Bournemouth loss,” he said.
He noted that the Reds are currently going along pretty nicely at the moment but are yet to face any strong team aside from Chelsea.
A win for Liverpool would mean a seven point gap over Arsenal and Parlour believes the Gunners would not be giving away such a big gap.
He said even if that happens, but, “it certainly doesn’t mean Arsenal can’t still win the league.”
He recalled that “We [Arsenal] were 12 points behind at one point in 1997/98 and no one gave us much of chance. We had to go to Old Trafford and beat Manchester United, and we did 1-0,” he added.
“Then we went on a 10-game winning streak and ended up securing the league with three games to spare. So I don’t think Arsenal will panic whatever happens on Sunday.
“But from Liverpool’s point of view, if they can win, it will only strengthen their belief they are title contenders,” he elaborated.
“You can’t change what happened against Bournemouth, but if Arsenal get three points against Liverpool then everyone forgets about that defeat. It’s a big, big game and I expect Arsenal to respond,” said Parlour.
