Ferdinand writes off Arsenal's title chances

(CNN) -- England international defender Rio Ferdinand has dismissed Arsenal's chances of winning the Premier League championship this season.

Arsene Wenger's men are eight points adrift of league leaders Liverpool and Ferdinand believes it will be too big a gap to bridge.

Speaking in Yokohama ahead for Manchester United's Club World Cup semifinal against Gamba Osaka, Ferdinand gave his considered verdict on the English title race.

"It is not beyond Arsenal but it is my personal opinion that it will be between the other three this season," he told Press Association.

"At the moment it looks like being nip and tuck but usually from Christmas onwards the teams who are going to be there at the end start pulling away.

"I can see that happening this season. I presume ourselves, Chelsea and Liverpool will pull away, then it will be down to two and finally one."

Arsenal have blown hot and cold this season, a 2-1 win at Chelsea reviving their hopes, but a disappointing 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough on Saturday hardly boosting their chances.

However, Wenger insists: "The team is improving, and if you look at the Middlesbrough game, we did have chances to score as well as being more stable defensively.

Wenger was commenting on Arsenal's official Web site as part of their 'Be a Gooner, Be a Giver' campaign supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust which will see players and directors donate a day's wages from the match with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.

"I am confident we will come back and catch some ground before Christmas and then push on," Wenger added. "I believe this team is not far off and can get there as much as the team in 2004.

"That is the question we want to answer in the next month, to not only show that we have potential, but that we can respond to the expectation level of our fans.

"At the moment, we swim a bit against the stream because we do not feel that (outside) around the team has the same belief as we do inside.

"We can understand that and take in on board because we lost some games which we should not have lost.

"But we have a few months in front of us now to show we were right to believe in our strengths and that we can be compared to the teams of such a quality in 2004 and maybe even aim to be stronger."

The Gunners boss will continue to stay positive, even if pundits and rival players continue to write them off as serious title challengers.

"The only thing you can do when you are under stress is to focus on what you do well, try to look at the problems and how to sort them out and forget about the consequences of it," he said. "You have to live 100% in the present and not imagine the consequences in case of failure."

Fortunately for the Gunners, the other members of the 'top four' were all held over the weekend, with United goalless at Tottenham, Liverpool sharing four goals with Hull and Chelsea drawing 1-1 with West Ham on Sunday.

Ferdinand was particularly pleased to see United's rivals held up after failing to impress at White Hart Lane.

"It looks like teams will drop points," said Ferdinand.

"Hull going to Anfield and getting a draw is a massive result for them. Who would have said that before the season kicked off?

"West Ham getting a draw at Chelsea was a surprise as well. There have been quite a few unusual results this season but I am sure it is good for the fans."

Arsenal did receive a boost on Tuesday with news that Croatian striker Eduardo returned to action with their reserve side, continuing his recovery after a badly broken leg suffered last season.