Patrice Evra makes Premier League title race prediction with Arsenal "false hope" claim

Patrice Evra has backed Arsenal to beat Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

Arsenal have enjoyed an excellent first half of the campaign under Mikel Arteta, losing just once in the league in their opening 15 matches.

They briefly moved eight points clear of City at the top of the table with a 3-1 win over West Ham on Boxing Day.

But the defending champions cut that lead to five points by beating Leeds United 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Newcastle are two points further back than City, while Tottenham complete the top four – with Antonio Conte's side currently 10 points behind their north London rivals, Arsenal.

Evra backs Arsenal to win the Premier League

When asked to predict who will finish as champions, former Manchester United defender Evra backed Arsenal to win their first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season.

He told Betfair: "I still want to say City but, hands up, Arsenal. I know I'm going to make the Arsenal fans happy, I love the way they play. I always believed in Arteta, they gave him more time and look at what they are doing now.

"I think the Arsenal fans that say they won't win the league say it because they are scared of having false hope and the other fans that say it are jealous and don't want them to win the league.

"As a former United player, they [Arsenal] deserve to win the league, they've beaten big teams, and how the second part goes depends on this transfer window.

"I will say, my opinion is judged on what has happened in the first half. Like I keep saying, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon."

Arsenal next face Brighton away from home on December 31, shortly after City host Everton at the Etihad.