THERE is no doubt in my mind that Arsenal have the ‘cojones’ to win the Premier League title.
Sure, Mikel Arteta’s players have shown balls of steel to open up an eight-point lead at the top of the table.
GettyThe Gunners not only have the collective spirit on the pitch, they possess the right stuff off it as they aim for their first title since 2004[/caption]
PAEdu deserves huge praise, both for his work this season and also for backing Mikel Arteta when the manager was under pressure in 2020-21[/caption]
But it’s the actions of the club hierarchy which have impressed me more than anything.
It’s well remembered — especially by Arsenal fans — that I once accused some of their players of lacking ‘cojones’ when my Watford team beat them during the latter part of Arsene Wenger’s reign.
But when I look at Arsenal now I see a club which has been brave, which has had the courage of their own convictions and are reaping the rewards.
Two seasons ago, the Gunners looked as if they were heading into a relegation battle and most people thought they were mad to stick with Arteta, and to keep believing in their long-term projects.
Time and again, you hear about football clubs having ‘three-year plans’ and ‘five-year plans’.
But time and again, they suffer a bad six months and they rip up those plans and start from scratch.
Not Arsenal under the ownership of the Kroenkes.
Their sporting director Edu needs a huge amount of credit. He spoke out in Arteta’s favour in the club’s darkest hour during the 2020-21 season.
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At Christmas, Arsenal were in the bottom six, having lost more than half of their matches and taken two points in seven games — yet they stuck by their manager, they believed in what he was working towards.
Later that season, there were mass protests against the Kroenkes, with former players signing up for rival consortiums attempting a takeover.
It would have been easy for owner Stan Kroenke, and his son Josh, to walk away from the club. But they stuck at it.
Arsenal have not spent obscene amounts on transfer fees and player contracts, either.
They have cut the wage bill, getting rid of high earners such as Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, when plenty of supporters were opposed to those moves.
And just this January, when they were about to sign Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk, and Chelsea gazumped them with a huge £88million deal, Arsenal didn’t lose their nerve.
They stuck to their budget, they signed Leandro Trossard from Brighton instead and the Belgian is proving to be an excellent addition.
Plenty of Arsenal’s players have shown strong-mindedness, too. Most obviously, Bukayo Saka, who has excelled since his penalty miss in the Euros final of 2021.
Saka is not just a brilliant player but a humble, selfless individual who loves playing football and seems to me to be the ultimate footballing role model.
But a couple of lower-profile players have seriously impressed me, too.
Granit Xhaka was pretty much a hate figure among Arsenal fans a couple of years ago.
He could have left, or the club could have bombed him out — but club and player showed ‘cojones’ again.
The Swiss midfielder has been excellent this season.
You have to lose to learn how to win. And since they blew fourth place last season, that’s what Arteta’s exciting young team have done.
Then there’s Ben White, signed from Brighton for £50m primarily as a centre-half, he has reinvented himself as a right-back and has made himself first choice in front of a very good specialist in Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Now Arsenal are ten games from glory, their run-in starting with Leeds at home on Saturday and that’s a game I expect them to win by three or four.
In fact, I expect Arsenal to win nine of their last ten — every one except for the visit to their only title rivals, Manchester City, on April 26.
That includes next weekend’s trip to Liverpool. I know Arsenal haven’t won at Anfield in the league for more than a decade and been well beaten on their last six such visits.
But that was a different Liverpool and a very different Arsenal. Arteta’s side will feel they can really get at Jurgen Klopp’s back four.
If they win there, the last doubters will surely be convinced this is Arsenal’s year.
After facing City, Arsenal then host Chelsea and Brighton, either side of a visit to Newcastle — and that sequence of fixtures looks like the crunch for them.
But I think they can open up an even bigger lead before they head to the Etihad.
City are a brilliant side but they also have the Champions League and FA Cup to juggle with.
And I don’t see Pep Guardiola’s team going on one of their epic winning streaks, which is what they would need to pip the Gunners to the title.
You have to lose to learn how to win. And since they blew fourth place by losing to Tottenham and Newcastle last season, that’s exactly what Arteta’s exciting young team have done.
From the dressing room to the boardroom, Arsenal are certainly not lacking ‘cojones’ now.