Arch-Arsenal critic Stan Collymore admits he’s finally starting to believe the Gunners will win the Premier League title this season.
Collymore has been outspoken about Arsenal ’s failings in recent years and hasn’t been afraid to voice the question marks he has had about Mikel Arteta and his men. Even as recently as last month, the former Liverpool and England striker turned Mirror Sport columnist was adamant Manchester City would still finish top.
But after seeing Arsenal score another decisive late winner against Bournemouth last weekend, he said: “I’m running out of reasons to say Arsenal won’t win the league. They’re nearly there.
“The only thing that’s going to stop them now is nerves in the run-in, the final hurdle of the last eight to 10 games. It’s the waking up or going to bed at night dreaming for Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Granit Xhaka and Co thinking, ‘We’re going to win it, we’re going to win it’, and sometimes that can make you freeze. But it has been an incredible effort from them to get this far and still be top of the table.
“The asterisk would be how poor some of the others have been this season. But I do hope Arsenal do it and that’s because of what it would mean for the development of Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Ben White and their other youngsters, and particularly the English boys. It’d be really important to have even more winners in an England dressing-room little more than a year away from the Euros in Germany.
“The criticisms about Arteta — the added bells, whistles and BS, that I don’t think you need to win a title — things like playing You’ll Never Walk Alone on speakers at the training ground and some of the over-the-top celebrations at opposition stadiums, it’s a bit disrespectful. You celebrate in the dressing room and I don’t know why that has to be that animated pitch-side. Look, I’m not a fun-spoiler, I get in the moment you want to enjoy yourselves, but there’s a way to do that that’s not pushing the boundaries of being disrespectful.
“Anyway, the only hurdle left is whether or not they can maintain that gap and can City win every game? City only need to beat Arsenal and then it can start to play with your head. You’re thinking, ‘Crikey, we’ve come this far and they’re still right behind us, if we lose one and they win they could well have done us after all that we’ve been through’.
"But, genuinely, because of the way they have played, because youth has been given a chance and because of the stick I’ve given Mikel Arteta, I hope that they do it, and let’s see now if they can. I certainly won’t begrudge them it. Yes, they’ve spent money, yes, they’ve paid big wages, but it would still be a remarkable achievement.”
