Former England forward, Theo Walcott, has warned Arsenal to take Chelsea as a serious Premier League title contender this season.
Walcott was speaking on Sky Sports, in reaction to the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with the Blues on Sunday.
Chelsea took the lead early in the second half despite going down to 10 men after Moises Caicedo’s red card.
But Trevor Chalobah’s goal was cancelled out by Mikel Merino’s header.
The result keeps Arsenal top of the table and six points ahead of Enzo Maresca’s men.
But Walcott stated that Arsenal must respect Chelsea’s title push.
He said: “I think so. Arsenal’s problem last year was that they drew too many games. Chelsea’s this year is too many red cards.
“It’s going to play catch-up. Right now, Arsenal are very comfortable, but I do think there are more gears to come from them.
“There have been more instances this season where they have been more patient in these big games, but they just need to pick up the intensity from start to finish.
“A lot of teams can’t cope with them; they need to ask questions of each other and maybe go away from what Mikel Arteta is saying to them at times. That would be a big change for me.”
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