Michael Owen shares his Premier League title and top 4 predictions after bold Man City comment

Michael Owen has given his full backing to Arsenal to win the Premier League title this season, suggesting Manchester City could falter significantly.

After narrowly failing to beat Pep Guardiola's mighty side for two consecutive seasons, the Gunners could well overtake them this time around to win their first title since 2004, claims the former England striker.

Meanwhile, he predicts an unprecedented drop to fourth place for City, which would mark Guardiola's lowest ever finish in his illustrious managerial tenure.

According to the former Liverpool striker, with Arne Slot at the helm, the Reds are contenders for a second-place finish, while Aston Villa are on course to maintain their position in the top four.

Offering his thoughts to Casino Hawks, Owen said: “Arsenal and Manchester City will be in pretty much everyone’s top four and I think Liverpool will probably be in there too, although there are questions over how Arne Slot will fit in. I’ve thought about Newcastle but Aston Villa are solid and look set to improve.

“In terms of the order of the games, I think if City don't win they could lose a bit of ground. It's almost as if City aren't really in the race after 10 games, so their priority could be elsewhere. I think there could be a big surprise this season. I'll go for Arsenal first, Liverpool second, Aston Villa third and Manchester City fourth.”

The former England international also predicted that the teams promoted this season – Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton – would be relegated to the Championship, adding that clubs would find it increasingly difficult after promotion.

“I can see the three teams promoted struggling in the Premier League as a trend going forward, the three that went up fell last season and if it wasn't for the points deductions suffered by Everton and Nottingham Forest it would have been even more compelling.

“They put up a fight and everyone really enjoyed watching Luton play for example, but if Forest hadn't dropped points it would have been done sooner.”