Alan Shearer rates Arsenal’s title chances after Gunners go top of the Premier League

Alan Shearer believes that whilst it is too soon to call Arsenal title contenders, they have now become a team that everyone else should fear.

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The Gunners returned to the top of the Premier League table on Sunday after beating Brentford 3-0, courtesy of goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira.

They have now won six of their opening seven games of the season, and sit a point above champions Manchester City and arch-rivals Tottenham.

Meanwhile, the remaining ‘big six’ teams have endured tough starts, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool fifth, seventh and eighth in the table, albeit having played a game less.

Whilst still early days, the results and performances of Mikel Arteta’s side have given Arsenal fans hope of a first league title since the ‘Invincibles’ triumph of 2003/04.

Shearer doesn’t necessarily share that enthusiasm, but hailed the work of Arteta in his BBC Sport column, noting the transformation from the woeful start they made to last season.

He said: ‘The Gunners’ win at Brentford epitomised their progress under Mikel Arteta, because we all remember what happened in this fixture on the opening weekend of last season – when the Bees didn’t just beat them, they bullied them.

‘Everything was different about Arsenal this time – in attack and defence, plus the way they controlled the game, and with their attitude and intensity. They ran out comfortable winners.

‘This Gunners side is not only bigger and stronger, it is also more committed. They were better in every department and dominated right from the start.

‘[Brentford’s] two strikers, Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo, hardly got a kick because Gabriel and William Saliba dominated them so much, and it was the