As his former team Arsenal gear up for a title-deciding clash against Manchester City tonight, ex-French international Robert Pirès has explained that he believes the Gunners still have a chance of lifting the Premier League trophy at the end of the season, in an interview with Le Parisien today.
Although the former winger points out that Mikel Arteta’s men have “everything” to fear from their closest challengers tonight, especially given the team that Pep Guardiola has built:
“That’s the main difference between the two squads. City’s is much deeper and more powerful than Arsenal’s. Mikel Arteta has often played with the same 12 or 13 players. They’re a younger team, they have less experience, and that can be difficult when you have to go and get a title. The last two months are difficult. Everyone keeps telling you that you’re going to win, there’s tension, you’re more and more nervous… You can get tripped up.”
For Pirès, who in six seasons with Arsenal won the Premier League and the FA Cup twice each, not all is lost for the North Londoners. The former Metz man notably points out that the fact that the club are set to return to the Champions League is a testament to the work that Arteta has done since arriving, although right now the aim is to go for the title. Nevertheless, whatever the outcome this season, the Frenchma believes that Arsenal are now back on the right track:
“Arsenal are becoming a great English club again, they’re fighting for the title and they’re rediscovering their DNA – that of playing beautiful football, one which also allows us to see young talents to emerge, like Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka.”
“[On what Arsenal’s DNA is] It’s everything that Arsène Wenger put in place when he arrived at the club. He wanted people to be inspired by him and play beautiful football. These days, Arteta, who played under him before becoming Guardiola’s assistant, has managed to bring that back. Arsenal are back up on their feet and that’s why I like watching this team play. You can compare their style of play to that of Lens or Marseille in Ligue 1 – these are teams that constantly attack. Of course there are weaknesses, but this tendency to attack is what we want to see more of in football.”
The Gunners travel to the Etihad tonight with a five-point lead at the top of the table, but Manchester City have two games in hand. Crucially, Arteta will be without French international defender William Saliba through injury, who in his maiden Premier League campaign has been a vital part of his team’s title charge.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin
