Guardiola Rates Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea must all be considered as Premier League title contenders.

                                                                    

Another two-way battle for the top prize between City and Liverpool is expected with Tottenham , who head to the Etihad to take on Guardiola's side on Saturday, seen as the most likely spoilers.

Former United boss Jose Mourinho hit the headlines for his comments on Sky Sports last week during which he declared "Man City B" were more likely to win the title than his two former Premier League clubs or Arsenal .

But Guardiola disagrees - and he insists he has already seen signs that they must be wary of all of their rivals in the top six.

"I am really impressed with Chelsea and how they have played against Manchester United and Liverpool," Guardiola said. "I was really surprised how well Frank Lampard's team played.

"And we saw the quality United have upfront and the new mood around the club. Arsenal have bought good players too, so they are all contenders."

United put four past Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday to demonstrate their clinical attacking prowess, although Guardiola was clearly impressed by the performance of Frank Lampard's side, who many felt were unfortunate to suffer such a heavy defeat.

 Meanwhile, Arsenal broke their club record signing over the summer to land Nicolas Pepe, whilst they also added Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid , Chelsea centre-back David Luiz and Celtic full-back Kieran Tierney.

They beat Newcastle 1-0 in their opening game of the campaign and will host Burnley on Saturday.

Chelsea finished third last season, 25 points adrift of second placed Liverpool, with Manchester United a further six points behind down in sixth.