CAN GUNNERS SERIOUSLY CHALLENGE CHAMPIONS?

OUR Starsport reporters give their take on whether or not Arsenal have what it takes to topple the mighty City... 4.30pm, Emirates, SKY his identity and values on the team and wasn’t afraid to take huge calls like bombing out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

It is now paying off with a vibrant young squad who are excelling at the top of the table after signing Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.

It is ironic the Gunners top the table ahead of City after recruiting two players from them plus Arteta himself from Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff.

That inside knowledge could yet prove crucial when the two clubs go head to head later this season.

Jesus and Zinchenko also have a winning mentality and experience of silverware from their time at the Etihad which is crucial.

It is still going to be a tall order for them to finish above City.

But City’s main objective this season has to be the search for a maiden Champions League after their heartbreak last season in the semifinals.

If Arsenal can keep pace now, City’s burning desire for European success could just give Arsenal hope in the final stages of the season if Guardiola’s men get distracted. (top) (below) of Julian Alvarez! Do you really want to suggest an Arsenal side new to the title game can match them?

This season will not be a title race, it will be a procession. Haaland isn’t going to the World Cup. He’ll get the rest he needs to go again during the second half of the season.

Where there are doubts about Arsenal’s ability to stay the course there are none about City. That’s not to say that Mikel Arteta has not constructed a stunning squad that will, in all probability, clinch a top-four place.

But the truth is, this is not a race for the title this season. It is a race to see who can finish best of the rest behind City. would be reined in when the going turned heavy in winter.

But the Foxes refused to yield to the chasing hounds, and most of us didn’t just end up with egg on our faces: We got the whole omelette.

Arsenal have most of the components required to sustain their leadership — a fine goalkeeper, a settled centreback pairing at last, exotic forwards who move the ball with purpose and flair... and at €50 million, Gabriel Jesus looks a steal.

Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have that titlewinning know-how from their City days, and it could yet prove a vital ingredient if the Gunners are going to turn a flying start into something truly remarkable.

But every time I try to visualise Arsenal parading the trophy, I am immediately haunted by two things:

Tipping a London club to win the title, and it wasn’t the Gunners.

And a big, 6ft 5in Norwegian rampaging across the landscape like an unstoppable Viking warrior.