Football
ESPN staff 8y

Arsenal and Man City out of Premier League title race says Ronald Koeman

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman believes that Arsenal and Manchester City are out of the Premier League title race, leaving Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur to fight it out for the big prize.

Leicester opened up a double digit lead at the top of the standings from Arsenal and City after their 1-0 home win over Newcastle United on Monday. Tottenham are on 58 points in second place, and have the best chance of catching the Foxes.

"It will be a fight between Tottenham and Leicester," the Dutchman said on Sky Sports. "In my opinion, that's the difference between before and after this result. It's a new situation for Leicester.

"Eleven points from Arsenal, 12 points from Manchester City, they are out of the title."

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher agreed with Koeman's assessment, claiming that Leicester and Spurs are the in-form teams who have the momentum going into the final stretch.

"It's not just the points, it's how those teams are playing," said Carragher. "They're not playing very well.

"You look at the difference to Tottenham and Leicester, they are playing well. They look like title winners with the performances they are giving.

"You look at Arsenal with the cup problem, Manchester City at Norwich. They don't look like teams that are going to go on and win the title.

"I think that gap now is too far. There's too much for them to do."

Koeman, did however warn that Leicester players will be under immense pressure from here on, and will have to keep their nerves if they are to win their first-ever Premier League title.

"Tottenham are still close, but it's now a fight between two teams," Koeman added.

"Before this game [against Newcastle], it was still a fight between four or five. That's the difference and it starts to run in your mind as a Leicester player.

When asked if that will pile even more pressure on Leicester, Koeman replied: "Yes, because you are closer to winning the title. That makes a big difference.

"Before today, the manager was still mentioning the Europa League but after the result, they have Champions League. Now it's about second or first place. That's the title and it's a different situation to what it was before the game."

Koeman's team, Southampton, are hoping to secure Europa League football next season, but they will have to get past Manchester United who hold the final European spot in sixth place.

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