Speaking ahead of Arsenal‘s laboured victory over Premier League whipping boys Wolves on Saturday night, ex-Manchester United and Leeds United midfielder and former Coventry, Southampton, Middlesbrough and Celtic boss Gordon Strachan tipped the Gunners to walk away with some major prizes in 2026.
As a player, Gordon Strachan was part of some teams that scooped up the big honours. A key player in Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen, Strach won eight major pots with the unlikely Scotts and then packed up and left for Manchester United with Fergie. Strach and Fergie famously didn’t hit the heights of Aberdeen together, winning one FA Cup before he was sold to Leeds where he would win a First Division title back in the days before the Premier League. Strach also won three Scottish titles on the spin with Celtic.
The point is, he knows a hell of a lot about touching silver, so Arsenal fans of a nervous disposition should take note.
You have to take a few slaps before you win anything
Speaking to BestBettingSites, a hub that lists the best new betting sites, Strachan said of Arsenal’s ability to win prizes this season:
“Seriously, I said at the beginning of the season, I thought they’d win the league. I just think that they’ve deserved it as well, because they’ve got close on many occasions, they’ve pushed teams, they’ve took huge disappointment coming second for the last three years.
“I think when you’re at a football club, even when I was at Aberdeen as a young man, we had to take a few slaps before we actually started winning anything. I think they’ve passed the slap stage now and I think it’s time for them to win something. And I think they do deserve to win something. If you just look over the last four or five years the football they have played has been outstanding.”
Strachan went on to praise the squad that Mikel Arteta has assembled at Arsenal over the last few seasons and thinks his team could also win the Champions League as well.
“The manager stayed at it, persevering. Great midfield players. They’ve got a great squad now. I do think they’ll win it.
“As for the Champions League, well they can win that too. Yes, they can win both. Will they win both? I don’t know, but they can win one. I think when you do that to Bayern Munich and teams like that, you’re doing well.”
Strach: I used to sneak into The Emirates when I was Scotland boss
Strachan also admitted that he used to love watching Arsenal play when he was in charge of the Tartan Army, but it was hard to justify because they didn’t have any Scottish players!
“I like to go to Arsenal but it’s hard for me to go and watch them these days. When I was the Scotland manager under the pretence that there may be a Scotland player in the game, it was tough because often there wasn’t a player I could really consider.
“You can see everybody look at me and think, ‘What’s he doing here? He really should be at Birmingham’. And I had this kind of look on my face, that I know I really shouldn’t be here, but I enjoyed it.”