Cole claims Arsenal will win the league unless Man City 'lawyers go to work'
Arsenal's title defence hinges on a legal appeal they have no control over, according to Joe Cole, who believes Manchester City's financial case will ultimately decide where the Premier League trophy ends up.
An independent commission found Manchester City guilty of over 100 breaches of financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, ruling that the club arranged 'sham contracts' and 'relied on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs'. Manchester City confirmed at the start of the month that they have appealed the decision, insisting the commission's ruling contained 'clear material errors of law, principle and fact and is unsafe' and that a 'comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions'.
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Speaking on The Dressing Room podcast, former Chelsea and England midfielder Joe Cole gave his verdict on how the Premier League title race will play out this season. “I think Arsenal,” Cole said. “If Man City's lawyers go to work, they win the league. The lawyers are the most important people in this right now! If not it's Arsenal and everyone else is just catching up.”
Cole had backed Manchester City to reclaim the title from Arsenal before a ball was kicked this season, and his prediction remains unchanged in principle, just now contingent on the outcome of the appeal. Manchester City have lost two of their last five matches since the guilty verdict was announced, including a first Premier League defeat of the season, 2-1 against Aston Villa on Saturday. Despite that, Enzo Maresca's side sit joint top of the table with the exact same record as Arsenal after eight games.
Carragher sees similar picture
Jamie Carragher offered a comparable assessment on Sky Sports, naming Arsenal as his favourites given the uncertainty hanging over Manchester City. “We've said before that Arsenal are not the most exciting champions we've ever seen,” Carragher said. “They still lack stardust in the final third and didn't get that superstar over the line that they wanted in the summer. There was talk of Vinicius Junior coming in obviously and Julian Alvarez but they didn't get those deals done. They do lack star power in the final third and we saw more evidence of that on Sunday.”
Carragher went further in praising the overall squad depth at Arsenal's disposal. “But they've got the best squad in the country and the best starting line up, I don't think anyone can go up against that really except maybe Man City,” he said. “We said all of this last year as well, they didn't have a game changer but what they had is two top quality players in every position. I still see Arsenal as the team to stop. We obviously don't know what's going to happen with City, we have to take it as it is right now.”
Arsenal head to Liverpool on Sunday for their next Premier League fixture, a day after Manchester City host in form Brighton at the Etihad. Both results, along with the outcome of City's appeal, will shape how the title race unfolds over the coming months.
