Peter Schmeichel says he remains unconvinced that any team in the Premier League is capable of seriously challenging Arsenal following the side’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool.
Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game on Merseyside to ensure Arsenal moved three points clear at the top of the table following Manchester City’s slip-up against high-flying Brighton.
The Gunners were also beaten by the Seagulls in September but have roared back emphatically in their last four matches, claiming maximum points and conceding just one goal in that time.
Sunday’s resilient win over Liverpool was their first at Anfield since as far back as 2012 and Mikel Arteta’s men will look to pick up where they left off when they return to top-flight action at home to Hull next weekend.
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The reigning English champions have a midweek trip to Slavia Prague to contend with first, though, and Arteta will no doubt be desperate for his squad to return to from the Czech Republic unscathed.
Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool enjoyed over 56 per cent of the possession against Arsenal and took 17 shots on goal compared to the visitors’ ten, although not one of those efforts was on target.
But Arsenal came on top with the one statistic that truly mattered in a spirited performance that left Manchester United legend Schmeichel even more confident that the north Londoners would defend their title.
‘That performance, to come here to Anfield and win 1-0, I don’t care about the manner,’ he said on Viaplay.
‘We can discuss that and we’ve done that for two years now.
‘Now they are winners and I can’t see anyone, with that squad and what he has available to him, Arteta, who can challenge this team.’
Schmeichel reserved special praise for Noni Madueke and credited Arteta with helping to turn the winger from just a ‘talent’ into a ‘fantastic football player’.
‘Remember when he was at Chelsea, we sat there right behind the bench, he got substituted in one of the games we covered,’ the Dane said of Madueke.
‘We all spoke about his behaviour afterwards… you never become a great player when you behave like that.
‘Now, what we’ve just seen in the game [against Liverpool], it’s great manager work.
‘He’s produced a fantastic football player out of a great talent that we always thought was just going to be a talent.’
Ex-Arsenal winger Freddie Ljungberg was similarly glowing with his praise for Madueke and backed the England international to play a ‘very important’ role for the club over the coming months.
‘He’s a top talent,’ Ljungberg, a member of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles squad, explained.
‘He’s different to Bukayo [Saka]. Bukayo is more of a solid player, would you call it that? He stands and makes the right decisions, angles, shots, knows what he’s doing.
‘Madueke is a bit more: one against one and I’m going. Rapid, more direct and sometimes we criticise him, maybe, for his defensive effort. Is he at the right angle? Is he protecting the centre? What is he doing defensively? And he switches off.
‘But he did not do that against Liverpool. It was a very mature performance from him because that’s what we sometimes say, “Don’t switch off!”, and he didn’t.
‘He did really well and he’s going to be very important.’
Will Arsenal defend their Premier League title?
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Yes
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No
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