Arsenal legend Alan Smith has suggested that Arsenal should not be considered as serious challengers for the Premier League crown this season.

The Gunners’s start to the campaign was regarded as an impressive one until they suffered consecutive 2-1 defeats to Everton and Manchester City last week.

According to Smith, who scored 115 goals during his eight years at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger’s men will “come up short in the title race”.

“It’s these matches (versus Man City and other title rivals) where they do let themselves down and that’s what makes you think they’re not genuine title contenders.” the Sky Sports pundit said

“They’ll be up there, probably finish in the top four, but when push comes to shove, they’re still lacking.

“They are still short, which is upsetting, because they’ve got so many good players and they can wipe the floor with practically any team on their day.

“But they have those matches where they come up short and that’s why I think they’ll come up short in the title race.”

Smith also added that the Gunners’ recent struggles at Goodison Park and Etihad stadium have become far too familiar.

“Well, it’s not new, we’ve seen it before. Groundhog day. That second half against City, it’s difficult to understand.” he said

“Arsene Wenger said ‘We dropped off physically’, but why did they drop off physically?

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