‘It drains you’ – Shearer makes Arsenal title claim; Lineker names Man Utd star ‘player of the season’ | OneFootball

Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer thinks Arsenal need to be better from an attacking perspective to beat Manchester City to the title this season.

The Gunners were pegged back in the title race on Saturday as Man City beat Leeds United 1-0 but Arsenal overcame Chelsea 2-1 under great pressure on Sunday to keep their five-point lead over Pep Guardiola’s side.

Arsenal were reliant on set-pieces to get them over the line against the Blues, who saw Pedro Neto dismissed for a second yellow card in the second half, with the Gunners scoring both goals from a corner.

And Shearer reckons it’s a concern that Arsenal are not scoring more goals, particularly from open play, as they head into the final nine matches of the season.

Shearer said on The Rest Is Football podcast: “Yeah, I would perhaps go along with that [the suggestion Arsenal need to be better from an attacking perspective].

“But I’d much prefer, obviously, to still be in their position. If they win every game then they win it. As do City, I guess, but I’m not too concerned with that. I just think the bigger picture is that they find a way.

“They found a way against Chelsea, they weren’t brilliant, but their set-pieces have done it for them again and there’s nothing wrong with that.

“They’re going to be nervy, they’re going to be edgy because of the pressure that they’re under.

“They’re human, I’ve been there myself, and it’s a huge ask, it is tough mentally and physically. It drains you.”

Despite Arsenal and Manchester City occupying the top two positions in the Premier League, Shearer’s colleague Gary Lineker insists Bruno Fernandes, who has seven goals and 13 assists in the top flight this term, is his player of the season.

Lineker said: “It sounds really simple. Of course, a player who can play No.10 can go everywhere, but if you look at other players’ performances when they’re trying to get on the ball, they’re just trying to get on the ball in between the lines. There’s no space there.

“But Bruno just goes everywhere, where he can get half a yard to put in a great delivery.

“He’s an outstanding player, one of the players of the season so far.”

Speaking about Man Utd‘s performance in their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, Micah Richards added: “It was quite sluggish. I didn’t think that they thought they could just turn up but their passing was slow.

“But when Bruno Fernandes gets a grip of that game… you talk about spaces and where he goes, he’s so clever.

“When he crosses, he goes sort of inside-left channel. He doesn’t just go in the middle, he sees where everyone is, he always uses his full-back or his winger and then they play back to him where he’s got that time to cross.

“If you actually look at his positioning, he’s always scanning about, where the best places are to be, where he can affect the game.”