Arsenal have a better chance of beating Manchester City to the Premier League title this season following Kevin de Bruyne’s injury.
That’s according to former Chelsea and Scotland midfielder Craig Burley, who believes the Belgian’s absence will be a big blow to City’s title hopes.
Arsenal topped the Premier League table for 248 days last season, the longest a team has ever led the pack without actually winning the title.
Mikel Arteta’s side surrendered their lead to City in the final two months of the campaign, but their bid to right those wrongs this season have received a boost.
De Bruyne injury a big blow
City linchpin De Bruyne is unlikely to feature before January 2024 after injuring his hamstring last week.
During City’s 3-0 win against Burnley, the 32-year-old suffered a recurrence of the hamstring tear he sustained in the Champions League final in June.
After an evaluation, it was decided by club and player that De Bruyne will undergo surgery to address the issue.
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that the Belgian midfielder will be out of action for anywhere between three and five months.
When asked on ESPN FC if De Bruyne’s absence will help Arsenal in the title race, Burley said:
“Yes – without De Bruyne and without Gundogan.
“I think they [Arsenal] have done such good [transfer] business over the summer after last year. I think [the title odds] were 60-40 [in City’s favour] still because City are so strong.
“I think it’s closer now to 55-45.
“[Losing Jurrien] Timber is a blow, but they have [Oleksandr] Zinchenko and [Kieran] Tierney, [Takehiro] Tomiyasu and Ben White.
“Yeah, it’s a blow, but it’s not as big of a blow as De Bruyne, I wouldn’t say.”
City will look to build on their opening day win against Burnley with a home meeting with Newcastle on Saturday evening.
