Sherwood tips three ‘party poopers’ to ‘spoil’ Arsenal title hopes ahead of last 13 games

Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood has tipped three teams to “spoil” Mikel Arteta’s Premier League title challenge at Arsenal ahead of the run-in.

The Gunners are currently eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table but Arteta’s side now have a game in hand on their rivals.

If Arsenal want to win the Premier League title this season they pretty much have to stay perfect between now and the end of the campaign.

There is a possibility Liverpool could drop points on the road against an underperforming Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, while Arsenal play Wst Ham on Saturday.

Liverpool also host Arsenal in May in a potentially crucial clash if the Gunners can stay in touching distance of Arne Slot’s side towards the end of the season.

But Sherwood would rather have Liverpool’s run of matches coming up than Arsenal’s as he predicts the stumbling blocks that Arteta’s men face.

Sherwood told Premier League Productions: “I think if you look at it, Liverpool have got four home games out of the next six and Anfield is a fortress.

“I would rather that run. Arsenal have got three and three. Two of those are at [Nottingham] Forest and [Manchester] United.

“You could argue United have been an easy ride for a lot of teams recently but Man United tend to put up a fight against the bigger teams. They knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup remember.

“I think although Liverpool have Man City at the weekend, they’ve got better fixtures coming up than Arsenal.”

The former Tottenham boss agreed with Danny Murphy’s claim that Arsenal’s fixtures look tougher with London derbies against West Ham, Chelsea and Fulham coming up before the end of the season.

Sherwood added: “I agree, I agree. I look at Arsenal’s fixtures and their home games are London derbies.

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“We know how difficult they can be. Even if it’s not your main rival it’s very difficult because teams take a big following with them.

“Chelsea at home as well… they can hurt anyone on their day. I know they’re not having a good time of it at the moment but they can beat anyone.

“When I played and we were going to a team challenging for a title, there was always some extra on the game. You wanted to be a party pooper.

“As sad as it sounds, that was sometimes the only thing you were playing for, to spoil someone else’s season.

“Chelsea, West Ham and Fulham will definitely want to spoil Arsenal’s season, they won’t want Arsenal to win the league.”