Arsenal dealt themselves a major blow in their title challenge as they slumped to a 3-2 defeat against an inexperienced Manchester United team. After the match, pundit Graeme Souness and ex-Gunner Thierry Henry did not hold back in their criticism of the Arsenal side.
On Sunday, a second-string Manchester United side managed to overcome Arsenal, and maintain their superior record against the Gunners at Old Trafford. Two goals and an assist from 18-year-old debutant Marcus Rashford sank an Arsenal side boasting of the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. The two goals by Danny Welbeck and Ozil were of little consolation, as they went home with no points and a humiliating 3-2 loss.
After the match, former Scotland international and Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness launched into a scathing criticism of Arsene Wenger’s men.
“Arsenal today bordered on being a joke for me,” Souness said on Sky Sports.
“This Arsenal team just doesn’t have ‘it’ – and I’ll stand on my head if they prove me wrong and go and win this league. That today was totally unacceptable.”
Thierry Henry was with him on the show, and even the former Arsenal legend couldn’t contain his disappointment at the poor showing by his former club.
“That wasn’t the performance of a team who wants to be champions,” said Henry.
“As an Arsenal fan, I’m thinking: ‘Can you show me you can be champions?’ and today they didn’t reassure me on anything. They were second-best in everything. It was a really poor performance.”
Wenger’s title challenge dismantled
Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur made no mistakes on the weekend, clinching vital wins to keep them in the first and second spot respectively. Thanks to their loss to Manchester United, Arsenal fell three points behind arch-rivals Tottenham and five points behind league leaders Leicester City.
Arsenal seemed to be cruising at the top of the table at one point of the season, but the slump that began with the loss to Southampton on the 27th of December last year has derailed the Gunners.
What seemed like Arsene Wenger’s best chance to win a Premier League title in 11 years, appears to be a rather difficult prospect in light of their latest humiliating defeat. After the Swansea game in mid-week, Wenger’s men come up against an in-form Tottenham Hotspur in their next weekend fixture — a match which is now a must-win for the Gunners, if they are to keep their title hopes alive.
