Perry Groves believes Arsenal can finish third in the Premier League this season, after the Gunners picked up consecutive wins to move ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.

The former Arsenal man feels that while the two Manchester clubs will contest the Premier League title, Arsenal have a decent shot of third place.

“Apparently, if you listen to the press, that mob up the road are the ones that are flying and the new kids on the block,” Groves said, as reported by the Express.

“All of a sudden we’ve not been playing to our peak and we’re in fourth place, not far behind second place. We’re coming into some decent form.

“I think its the two Manchester clubs to be honest, Man City obviously are far and above everybody, then Manchester United. 

“Then I think Chelsea, ourselves, Liverpool, Spurs, them teams are very equal. I’d say top three (is possible), I’d say first and second is going to be Manchester United and Manchester City, whatever way it is.”

Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Burnley saw them leap above Tottenham in the table. While there’s immense satisfaction in being above Spurs, there’s still a long way to go in the season. It’s simply too early to suggest that we’ve put them back in their place.

That aside, third place does seem a realistic proposition for the team this season. While it’d be another year without a Premier League title, it’s clear that we’re not on Manchester City’s level.

In my opinion, Groves has been generous in suggesting that Manchester United are in the title race, given that they also some way behind City. It means that second shouldn’t out of reach for Arsenal either.

A win over United next Saturday would see us move within a point of them, provided we also beat Huddersfield in midweek. After we finished fifth last season and were written off by everyone this campaign, a second-place finish would be a decent accomplishment.