ABOVE: Arsene Wenger walks back to the dressing room after seeing his side lose at Old Trafford. Has he lost the plot?
Football pundits wrote off Arsenal after their defeat to Manchester United, saying their display “bordered on a joke”.
Arsenal suffered a 3-2 defeat on Super Sunday, Marcus Rashford scoring twice on his Premier League debut as Arsene Wenger’s side were left five points behind leaders Leicester.
Graeme Souness declared Louis van Gaal’s side deserved winners but labelled the Gunners’ display “weak”, “insipid” and “unacceptable”.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry blasted Arsene Wenger’s side for their performance against Manchester United, insisting that they do not look like a team who can be crowned champions this season.
The result on Sunday means the north Londoners are five points behind Premier League leaders Leicester City, and three behind second-placed Tottenham, and Henry is now unconvinced that the Gunners can recover and win the title.
“Man Utd deserved to win the game,” Souness said. “They were better at the front and the back – the areas that matter”, Souness said..
“It was tippy-tappy football from Arsenal – they had 60 per cent of possession but were going nowhere.
“Arsenal today bordered on being a joke for me.
“You turn up here, you’re playing a Manchester United side struggling with injuries, introducing young players, low on confidence and you’re thinking it’s tailored-made for a proper team to come here and do a number on an under-strength Man Utd and they didn’t.”
According to Henry, “This is an Arsenal team you were saying a month ago was a real team. They’ve got to play Tottenham, Barcelona – by March 16 they could be out of all competitions. Arsene Wenger must be tearing his hair out.
He told Sky Sports: “I don’t think that would have happened [when I played for Arsenal]. Things did happen in my time, we did lose 6-1 but we were the wounded team when we came here [at Old Trafford].
“That wasn’t a performance from a team who want to be champions. That’s where, as an Arsenal fan, I’m looking at it, I’m not sure that team can be champions, can they show me they can be champions? Today, they didn’t reassure me on anything.”
