Having spent 11 years of his playing career with Arsenal as a rival, it’s no surprise that John Obi Mikel speaks so strongly about the Gunners.
The Chelsea icon is one of many former players to enter the world of podcasting to share his views on the drama of today’s game.
Quite often, Arsenal become a talking point on Mikel’s ‘The Obi One’ podcast, but the issue with such is that when opinions change, they are there for all to see.
Mikel is partial to changing his opinion on Arsenal, but it must be said that his latest U-turn is nothing short of ridiculous.
John Obi Mikel’s Arsenal U-turn is absolutely crazy
The discourse in question began after Arsenal’s late 2-1 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
After the game, Mikel said Arsenal had the best squad in Europe, but simultaneously felt strongly about Arsenal’s claim to the Premier League title.
After the game on September 28th, the Chelsea legend said the following on his podcast.
“Arsenal, I thought yesterday very very lucky. Very lucky. Yes, they did win the game. I hear people saying that’s what champions are made of. What champions are made of? Arsenal champions? They just they just won a game. They’re not champions. What are they saying? This is what champions are made of.”
Mikel soon after said, “I don’t think Arsenal can win the Premier League this season. I don’t think so.”
The Arsenal squad have become irritated by the criticism they’ve unfairly received this season, and when comparing Mikel’s opinions in the span of a month, it’s clear to see why.
So, we know what Mikel said after Newcastle, so how did that compare to what he said after Arsenal’s win over Crystal Palace just 28 days later?
After the win over Palace on October 26th, Mikel’s opinion completely changed.
“This season, it’s Arsenal’s to lose,” he said, less than a month after saying Arsenal can’t win the league.
“If Mikel Arteta and Arsenal don’t win the Premier League, the squad, the depth they have is frightening. They have the best squad, not just in the Premier League, not just in England, in world football right now. I bet you, there’s no better squad depth than Arsenal.
“This is Arsenal’s title to lose. If Mikel Arteta does not win it…”
When comparing the two comments, it’s rather comical, but it’s also extremely frustrating because the contrast in such a short amount of time just proves Arsenal cannot win in the media right now.
Opinions like John Obi Mikel’s reinforce Martin Odegaard’s claim
Arsenal are getting so much criticism in the media for sitting top of the Premier League and remaining faultless in the Champions League.
Whether it’s attacking set-piece success or how Arteta sets up conservatively to preserve defensive excellence, somebody has a problem.
Mikel’s strong opinions are an example of such, and only reinforce the complaint Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard made before kick-off at the Emirates on matchday nine.
“People were ready to say that our season was done if we didn’t beat Newcastle. Now, just a few weeks later, we are top and all of a sudden everyone is saying we’re going to win it,” Odegaard told Arsenal’s official matchday programme.
He added, “There is always a lot of noise around us, either positive or negative.”
In the media, Arsenal can’t win, but on the pitch, they really can, doubling down on the importance of blocking out tedious comments.
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