Jamie Carragher makes 'by far' Arsenal prediction as Premier League title verdict reached

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Jamie Carragher has declared that Arsenal are "by far the best team" in the Premier League at present. The Gunners face Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, seeking to extend their advantage at the summit of the table.

Mikel Arteta's squad sat two points clear of second-placed Sunderland , riding high on an impressive streak of six consecutive victories across all competitions, including three in the top flight. This stands in stark contrast to reigning champions Liverpool , who are enduring a torrid spell of four successive Premier League defeats following Saturday's 3-2 reverse at Brentford.

Should the Reds' decline persist, Manchester City - who travel to Aston Villa on the same day - are anticipated to emerge as Arsenal's primary title rivals. Offering his assessment of the Gunners, Carragher remarked: "I think if Arsenal can win today you think of the daylight between them and Liverpool, but also Manchester City if they don't get maximum points [against Aston Villa].

"I am looking at Arsenal right now and they look by far the best team in the country right now. It's very early days, of course it is, but they need to capitalise on the situation they find themselves in because they could get a sizeable lead in these early stages."

Micah Richards chimed in: "I think Arsenal have been absolutely brilliant, they can win in any way. Yes, we've talked about the set pieces, defensively, but I actually I think with [Viktor] Gyokeres and the way he stretches opposition getting [Eberechi] Eze, [Bukayo] Saka involved, [Gabriel] Martinelli running in behind, [Leandro] Trossard getting in them pockets, I think they're a brilliant team.

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"Watching them in the Champions League against Atletico. I thought it was going to be two teams that sat back and it be very difficult, but they went there, expressed themselves.

"I said a couple of weeks ago I thought they had the handbrake on, but they've taken the handbrake off now and Arsenal, if they want it, it's certainly there for them."

Ahead of the match, Arteta conceded that Arsenal must be at their best to secure a positive result. "If we want a very different outcome, we'd better do very different things than we did last year, especially in these fixtures," he stated.

"We know what Palace are doing, what Oliver [Glasner] is doing for the football club, and the way they are getting results. So it's going to be a really tough match, but we're going to play again in front of our crowd, and we are confident that if we hit our level, we have a big chance to win it."