Arsenal heroes Thierry Henry and Ian Wright heve questioned whether or not Arsene Wenger’s squad has the mental strength to become champions.
The Gunners fell to a disastrous 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, as they were dealt another blow in terms of their title ambitions with rivals Leicester City and Tottenham both winning.
With the north London derby coming up this weekend, the pressure is increasing on Wenger and his players to get things right and avoid throwing away a real opportunity of ending their wait for a league crown.
However, both Henry and Wright have been forced to question whether or not they are ready to do that and prove that they deserve to be champions this year.
“That wasn’t the performance of a team who wants to be champions,” Henry told Sky Sports. “As an Arsenal fan, I’m thinking, ‘Can you show me you can be champions?’ — and today they didn’t reassure me on anything. They were second-best in everything. It was a really poor performance.
“Don’t take away anything from Marcus Rashford or Man United today, but Arsenal had to do more than that. I wanted Arsenal to come here and win well to send a message. You need to learn how to win games when you’re not at the top of your game.
“They’re still in the title race, but as an Arsenal fan, how are you going to feel confident going to Tottenham, to Everton, to West Ham?”
Meanwhile, Wright has conceded that he doesn’t believe his former club will be in contention at the end of this season, with the former striker tipping the winner coming from the current top two sides.
“Arsenal’s defeat at Manchester United was especially disappointing because it showed they do not have the mental strength to deal with being where they are at in the title race,” he told the BBC.
“Gunners fans know they have a fantastic opportunity to win the Premier League this season, but the team does not seem to understand the enormity of their situation, and what it requires.
“There are still 11 games to go but, as things stand, I do not watch them and see a team that has what it takes to win the title.
“I don’t know who is going to win it out of Leicester and Tottenham, but I do believe it is between those two now.”