Paul Scholes has aimed a brutal dig at Premier League leaders Arsenal after their 3-2 home defeat against Manchester United on Sunday evening. The midfielder-turned-pundit has questioned the quality of the Gunners' squad, despite leading the way in the top-flight.
Arsenal have been the favourites to lift the biggest trophy in England come May for the majority of the campaign, and are still in the driving seat to do so. However, some doubts have started to creep in due to a recent draw at struggling Nottingham Forest and the loss against Man Utd.
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Even if Mikel Arteta leads the north Londoners to a first league title since 2004, Scholes isn't convinced they'll go down as memorable champions. In fact, he thinks Arsenal would make history for all the wrong reasons, making a comment that's caused uproar on social media.
Paul Scholes Makes 'Worst Team' Prediction For Arsenal
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After seeing goals from Bryan Mbeumo, Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha sink the Gunners in their own backyard over the weekend, Scholes has made a huge claim against Arteta's side.
They held a seven-point lead over both Manchester City and Aston Villa, but saw that cut to just four points after the shock loss at the Emirates Stadium. While Opta's supercomputer still has the Londoners down as the most likely winners, some doubts have crept in.
Scholes, alongside Nicky Butt on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, has been critical of the Arsenal team in the wake of the Man Utd loss. The ex-England midfielder made the huge claim that they could be the 'worst' Premier League winners ever, saying:
"If Arsenal win the league, this could be the worst team to win the league. If you’re thinking of picking a Team of the Season and picking the front four, nobody from the Arsenal team gets in that.
"Look at previous champions – Liverpool’s forwards, brilliant. Possibly the only one is Saka, and I don’t think he’s been brilliant. He’s not scored many goals this year or assists."
Listen to Scholes' full comments about Arsenal below (21:35 onwards)
Paul Scholes
Fans, especially of an Arsenal persuasion, were quick to jump on social media to both agree and disagree with Scholes' comments. Some Gunners supporters were quick to point out that Scholes' Man Utd team recorded a low points tally to win the league in 1996-97.
That's the lowest ever tally to win the Premier League, and one fan posted on X (formerly Twitter): "He won a league with 75 points."
"They want a team to break the record so badly. Funny thing is, Scholes was in this team. Imagine conceding 44 goals and winning the league in this era," another added.
Another X user pointed out other teams that could rival Arsenal for the title of 'worst' champions, saying: "Objectively speaking. Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City have literally won the Premier League."
Others weren't so quick to shut down the ex-United star's claim, as one said: "He’s right unless we go on a 23/24 like run," while another took aim at Arteta rather than the players: "Not the worst team, but I agree the worst manager."
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