Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes (Picture: YouTube)
Paul Scholes believes Arsenal could ‘canter’ to the Premier League title despite their indifferent record against the teams around them.
The Gunners, who last won the league in 2004, boast a seven-point lead at the top of the table ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta’s team were second or perhaps even third favourites to win the Premier League before the season began, behind reigning champions Liverpool and Manchester City.
But Liverpool’s miserable run of form towards the end of last year, combined with City’s poor recent results have given Arsenal a commanding lead in the title race.
Perhaps the only criticism that can be thrown the way of Arsenal this season is their record against the division’s other top sides.
Arteta’s side have already played five of their six league matches against the rest of the current top four – City, Aston Villa and Liverpool – but have won on just one occasion.
Scholes thought that Arsenal’s record in those games would be defining for their title hopes this season, but the former United midfielder conceded that might not matter now given the inconsistent nature of the chasing pack.
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Mikel Arteta’s side are comfortably top of the table (Picture: Getty)
‘One thing Arsenal haven’t done is they haven’t won a big game, beat a Liverpool or a Man City, they still haven’t done it,’ Scholes told The Overlap Fan Debate with Sky Bet.
‘And I said earlier in the season that I can’t see them winning the league unless they start beating those types of teams.
‘But looking at how many points Liverpool and City are dropping, I don’t think they are going to have to. I think it could be a canter for them.
Michael Carrick’s Manchester United will look to upset the league leaders on Sunday (Picture: Getty)
‘In other years gone by, City or Liverpool would be closer, and that’s the time when you have to win those games.’
Standing in Arsenal’s way this weekend is Scholes’ former side, who will no doubt be buoyed by their impressive display in Michael Carrick’s first match as interim head coach.
The Red Devils coasted to a 2-0 win against City, and Scholes believes that fans will be demanding Carrick made permanent if he continues in that manner until the end of the season.
‘Michael Carrick didn’t do a lot that was unexpected [against Manchester City],’ he said.
‘He had a couple of players back from the African Cup of Nations which made a difference – Harry Maguire as well – I thought he was good next to Lisandro Martínez as well.
‘Like what happened with Ole Gunnar Solskjær, if Carrick does well until the end of the season, United fans will demand it [that he stays] – especially if he gets to second or third.’
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