Arsenal at the Crossroads: Scholes Says They’d Be the Worst Premier League Champions

Arsenal under the spotlight

Paul Scholes, the former Manchester United star, says Arsenal would be the worst team to win the Premier League if they lift the trophy this season. Arsenal sit on top with 50 points, four clear of their closest rivals, but their momentum was cracked by a 3-2 loss to Manchester United as City and Aston Villa added wins elsewhere.

That setback means Arsenal have earned only two points from the last nine, and they've managed just two goals in that stretch, both against United.

As Mikel Arteta's side chase the title for the first time since 2004, Scholes' critique has been echoed by pundits including Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports, who questioned the Gunners' attacking firepower.

What pundits and Arteta are saying

Scholes told the Daily Mail that if Arsenal win the league, it could be one of the worst champions ever, and that if you were naming the season's best XI you wouldn't include an Arsenal forward. He noted that while players like Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli have their moments, they haven't been consistently decisive this season.

Sky Sports highlighted that Bukayo Saka has not scored in 13 matches in all competitions, and Gabriel Martinelli's goal return has been limited, with some forwards failing to find the net beyond penalties. Noni Madueke and Leandro Trossard have also had their moments but faced goalscoring droughts, while Arsenal's reliance on set-pieces has yielded 26 goals—the most in Europe's top five leagues—though it may come with trade-offs elsewhere.

Jamie Carragher argued that a league leader typically features at least one recognisable striker in the XI, a trend Arsenal currently lacks. Arteta, though, said after Sunday's defeat that the squad remains confident and that they will win the Premier League, sharing gratitude for the group and focusing on the journey ahead.

Arteta added that he held a productive meeting with the players and stressed that they must enjoy the moment with the belief they will lift the title. This is their moment, he said, and the focus is on delivering the trophy with conviction.

Punchline 1: If Arsenal win the league, Scholes will have to rewrite his forecast—even a calculator would need a round of applause.

Punchline 2: And if you doubt it, remember: the ball has a better sense of timing than Arsenal's attack—sometimes it actually finds the net before I finish this sentence.