Wayne Rooney doesn’t get enough credit as a pundit due to some prejudices, but his brutal dismissal of Arsenal has aged like a prophecy.
The past week hasn’t been kind to Arsenal, as Man City and Southampton have dumped them out of two cup competitions in back-to-back games.
There was an element of schadenfreude to their FA Cup elimination at the hands of Southampton as Jason Wilcox played an indirect role.
Another Man Utd factor to Arsenal’s latest loss is how it makes Wayne Rooney’s brutal dismissal of their side age like fine wine.
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Wayne Rooney knew the reality of this Arsenal side
Life comes at you quickly in football, and for Arsenal, their quadruple hopes at the start of April have come dashing down rapidly.
The collapse is stunning, and it won’t surprise anyone if the mental fragility transfers to the two competitions they are still in.
Their current predicament casts the mind back to January, when people were frothing at the mouth to call them the greatest thing since sliced bread.
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At the time, Theo Walcott asked Rooney, with a straight face no less, how Man Utd’s 2008 side would fare against the current Arsenal team.
Rooney didn’t take any prisoners and replied brutally in three words, saying, “We’d batter them.”
This dismissal of Arsenal’s credentials didn’t go down well at the time among many fanbases, but Rooney knew what he was talking about.
Forget the quadruple, Arsenal’s double hopes are hanging by a thread, which is what the 2008 Utd side achieved in style.
Man Utd ’08 were functional and flashy, unlike Arsenal
Even if Arsenal end up matching the ’08 side and win the Champions League and the Premier League, the debate against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side is a non-starter.
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That United team had one of the most fearsome attacks of all time, midfield metronomes, and the perfect balance of craft with combat defensively.
Arsenal, in contrast, are functional at best, rigid at worst, as was exposed by Michael Carrick in United’s win at the Emirates.
City and Southampton followed Carrick’s template to beat Arsenal again, which shows just how limited Mikel Arteta’s men are, despite their good results.
The ’08 United would batter you into submission while also being capable of grinding out wins. The current Arsenal side can look toothless without a set-piece goal or if you let them have sterile possession.
Rooney’s brutal three-word dismissal of their quality relative to one of the greatest PL sides of all time was not in poor taste. It was a prophecy.
Now, it’s also Arsenal’s reality.
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