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Ex-Arsenal Captain, Patrick Vieira believes Newcastle can pip his old club to the title
Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has sent out a warning to his former side about the very real threat of Newcastle breathing down their necks.
Vieira, now a coach with Crystal Palace, was speaking ahead of his current team’s 0-0 draw against Newcastle and extolled the Magpies’ qualities, which have seen them in an unlikely title race with Arsenal, who are top of the league.
Newcastle are quietly building up to a great league finale
Newcastle’s draw against Crystal Palace extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 15 matches, with their last loss coming against Liverpool on matchday five, which remains their only loss in the league this season.
Their excellent form has them third in the table and stoking talk of a possible big-seven in the Premier League.
They are only eight points behind Arsenal, who are top of the league, although they have played two more matches than the Gunners.
Vieira strongly believes Newcastle can go all the way
This, however, has not stopped Vieira, the last Arsenal captain to lift the Premier League, from backing Newcastle to put up a challenge for the league title, as he believes that Newcastle have the right qualities to take the title race to the wire.
He said, "I strongly believe that with the way they are performing there's no reason why they can't believe in themselves to be part of those teams who have a chance [of winning the title].
"This is a team who play with a lot of intensity. This is a team who physically are really strong.”
Vieira will know all about Newcastle’s strength and resilience after facing them three times this season in league and cup fixtures without getting a goal past them in any of the encounters.
Newcastle whose primary aim is qualification for Europe next season, are currently third on the log and eight points adrift of Arsenal but will not be too concerned about the points gap as they themselves have given up a 12-point gap at the top of the table in fairly recent history.
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