Scholes claims Arsenal will be the ‘worst team to win Premier League’ if Arteta lifts title | OneFootball

Paul Scholes insists Arsenal “could be the worst team to win the league” if Mikel Arteta gets the team over the line in the Premier League title race.

The Gunners were beaten 3-2 by Manchester United on Sunday as Red Devils forward Matheus Cunha struck the winner with three minutes to go.

That result means nearest rivals Manchester City and Aston Villa, who occupy second and third place in the table, closed the gap to four points on leaders Arsenal over the weekend.

Pressure is building on Arsenal and Arteta after three consecutive second-placed finishes in the Premier League with the Gunners boss well-backed in the summer transfer market.

And Manchester United legend Scholes, who won 11 league titles at Old Trafford, reckons Arsenal “could be the worst team to win the league” due to their attack.

Scholes said on the latest episode of The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast: “If Arsenal win the league, this could be the worst team to win the league. If you’re thinking of picking a team of the season and picking the front four, nobody from the Arsenal team gets in that.

“Look at previous champions – Liverpool’s forwards, brilliant. Possibly the only one is Saka, and I don’t think he’s been brilliant. He’s not scored many goals this year or assists.”

And former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher echoed Scholes’ sentiment with Arsenal “not normal” Premier League leaders.

Carragher said on Sky Sports: “When have you ever seen a team at the top of the table, who have been top by six or seven points, but if you were picking the best team of the Premier League so far, you wouldn’t have one of their players in the front four?

“That is not normal, that would never happen. The best team in the league would always have at least one, maybe two players [forwards], in the team of the season.

“Arsenal don’t have that right now, and that plays into the fact that they don’t have a genuine superstar at the top end of the pitch.”

Former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker insists Arsenal “should be fine” but he also highlighted the lack of goals in the Gunners frontline.

Lineker said on The Rest Is Football: “Arsenal, it’s a little bit, what should we call it, squeaky Arse-nal time. It’s too early for that you’ve got a good lead.

“You’re going to get little blips and I would look behind and Man City are also inconsistent at the moment.

“Villa are absolutely punching above their weight at the moment, they’ve got some really good players and they’re a very good side.

“And then there’s quite a gap. I still think Arsenal should be fine.

“You’re going to lose the occasional football match because it’s hard not to.”

Fellow pundit Micah Richards admits he’s getting a little concerned for Arsenal, he said: “I’m starting to get a little bit worried for Arsenal because I feel that they’re playing quite defensively.

“I don’t think this has just been the last couple of games, it’s been the majority of the season. They’ve scored 13 goals from set pieces. The next top scorer is on five.”

Lineker added: “I’ve got something even better here Micah, the forwards and their goal-scoring.

“Bukayo Saka: No goals in the last 13 games in all competitions.

“Viktor Gyokeres: No non-penalty goals in his last 11 Premier League appearances.

“Gabriel Martinelli: No goals in his last 13 Premier League appearances.

“Noni Madueke: No goals in his last 25 Premier League appearances.

“Leandro Trossard: One goal in his last 11 appearances in all competitions.

“Now, I know people have chipped in from around the team, particularly at the back, and of course [Eberechi] Eze got a hat-trick against Tottenham, so we can’t forget people who have scored a few goals.

“They’ve just not got anyone banging in the goals on a regular basis.”