After signing off from English football on Sunday with a goal against Southampton, Frank Lampard says Manchester City and Chelsea will dominate the Premier League for years to come and warned Arsenal and Manchester United they face a battle to catch up with English football's top two.
His 177th Premier League goal
The midfielder, 36, brought down the curtain on one of the great Premier League careers when he struck first in City’s 2-0 win over Southampton – his 177th goal in 609 appearances in England’s top division – before he moves to the United States to play for New York City FC. He helped City finish as runners-up to his former club Chelsea, with whom he won three league titles.
Sustainable success
Arsenal ended with 18 wins in their last 26 league games to finish third, while fourth-placed United spent £152 million (Dh863.5m) last summer and are likely to have a similar transfer outlay this time around. However, Lampard says his recent employers have a model for sustaining success. “They are very much a replica of each other, the clubs, and I think they are going to be the top two clubs for the next few years in English football and hopefully going into Europe because they’ve got great foundations,” he said.
Plenty of desire
Lampard is certain his City colleagues have the desire to prove their doubters wrong. “For a team that people want to criticise, we still finished second,” he said. “A lot of teams have had good seasons and come behind us. It shows you how far the club has come that you can be disappointed with a second place.”
‘There will be changes’
“I think there will be changes. It is a club that demands success, and rightly so because of the squad, but there is a great, great pool of players, a great atmosphere. There’s some really big, big players who really care about the club and I think they will come back very strong.”
The new ‘top two’
Lampard said his time at Stamford Bridge and the Etihad Stadium has given him a belief there is enough ability at both clubs for them to hold off the challengers. “From being inside the camps at Chelsea for such a long time and at City, I know what they’ve got. I know the quality. I think Chelsea certainly deserved the title this year because of the way they played, their consistency level, and it is all up for grabs again next year.”
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