The pile on for Arsenal has continued after the weekend with former Man United duo Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt now suggesting things are looking bleak for the Gunners.
Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth, coupled with Man City’s brilliant win at Chelsea, means the title is now effectively out of Mikel Arteta’s side’s hands.
That can change again if Arsenal get a result at City this weekend but the pressure is now on more than ever.
And for Scholes and Butt, it very much feels like things have broken down for the club.
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“Until you’ve won it, or got over that hurdle, it is an absolute nightmare. You’re just thinking that you’re going to let them down again and you can see that now with Arsenal and City, especially with Pep in charge, the amount of times he’s won the title,” Butt said.
Adding his own thoughts, Scholes then echoed what Gary Neville has said about beating your rivals.
“I just think Arsenal have gone,” Scholes commented.
“All the momentum is with City. At some point you have to beat your rivals. I’ve not seen them do it, they don’t win big games.”
With Arsenal travelling to City this weekend, there has never been a better time for Mikel Arteta to shut the critics up.
The problem, though, is that Scholes and Butt look very much right in their assessments here.
Arsenal are just not putting the performances in to warrant winning games. Even in Lisbon last week, they were solid enough but it took a very late winner and a piece of quality from Martinelli and Havertz to get it done.
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Realistically, Arteta needs to be showing his team that goal and telling the squad that’s what he wants to see.
Title winning teams do not sit back and wait for others to act. They do not wait for results to go their way elsewhere either.
Arsenal, as Scholes says, have got to go and beat City. If they do, they will likely be champions and then the weight is off their back.
If not, then this group is only going to be remembered as a group who fails in key moments. In fact, even a Champions League win would struggle to mask that the league had been chucked away.
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