Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Footballpodcast, Scholes was unequivocal. Arsenal, he argued, will not end their 22-year wait for a league title unless they begin winning the defining matches of the season.
"Man City have a great chance now, don’t they?" the United legend asked. "I still don’t think they’re quite right but they always get better in the second-half of the season and the thing with Arsenal is they can’t win a big game."
Scholes cited defeats to Liverpool and Villa, as well as draws against Manchester City and Chelsea, as evidence of Arsenal’s limitations.
"Until they start winning big games they’ve got no chance of winning the league," he said. "They lost to Liverpool, they couldn’t beat Man City at home when they were struggling. Aston Villa are a good team, don’t get me wrong, but Arsenal just can’t win big games. They couldn’t beat Chelsea after they went down to ten men. If you’re going to win the league you’ve got to start winning some big games, you’ve got to beat your rivals, and they can’t do it. Historically Man City always get better after January. They were in the Club World Cup so they didn’t really have a pre-season."
Scholes’ former team-mate Nicky Butt echoed those sentiments, predicting that Pep Guardiola’s side are building towards yet another late-season surge.
"I did say I fancied Man City for the title about a month ago," Butt said. "They’re suddenly clicking. The reason I think Man City will win the league is Pep [Guardiola]. He’s got the experience. I can see him winning the league this year and then leaving."
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