“Paul Scholes Identifies the One ‘Wrong’ Decision by Mikel Arteta That Cost Arsenal the Title”
“Paul Scholes Identifies the One ‘Wrong’ Decision by Mikel Arteta That Cost Arsenal the Title”
Arsenal fell just short of the Premier League title last season, and are aiming to correct the few mistakes they made.
Mikel Arteta’s side took Manchester City to the final day of the Premier League season, but finished just two points behind despite winning 16 of their last 18 games.
Given the strength of Man City, who won their fourth title in a row under Pep Guardiola, it is hard to blame Arsenal too much for falling marginally short despite their magnificent form in 2024, but Arteta knows there is room for improvement.
Arsenal know they now have to be near-perfect across the whole season to usurp Man City to the title, and they are on the right track.
However, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has pinpointed one mistake Arteta made, and claimed that Arsenal would have otherwise won the title if he had done one thing differently.
Paul Scholes claims Arsenal lost Premier League title because of Mikel Arteta’s mentality
Speaking on The Overlap, Scholes claimed that Arsenal’s 0-0 draw at Man City at the end of March is what cost them the title, as Arteta had to go into that game with a winning mindset.
“I think that Man City are still the best team, don’t get me wrong, but Arsenal are clearly not far away,” he stated.
“I think the thing they’re missing is that little bit of mentality, where they can actually go on and do it. I think last year – sometimes when you’re rivals, when you’re going for the league with another team, as we went to Liverpool and City and Arsenal a bunch of times – you have to go to their ground and win in a big game.
“I remember watching the game at the end of last season, but City were struggling a little bit and Arsenal went there and played for a draw, and they were delighted with the draw.
“Now if you win that game, Arsenal win the league, I have no doubt about that. Eight games to go after it, and that momentum is massive, all of a sudden you’re killing Manchester City, you’re killing your main rival, they’re gone.
“It’s like a dagger to the to the back, honestly it absolutely destroys you, and then all of a sudden your confidence is coming, and you end up winning every game, you should win the league.
“When I saw the celebrations after that game from Arteta, they were so happy to draw the game, and I thought that’s wrong, because if you go there and win at such a vulnerable time for Man City, I think it’s the difference between winning the league and not winning the league.”
Arsenal took four points off Manchester City last season, that was not the problem
Arsenal beat Man City 1-0 at home in October, and drew 0-0 at The Etihad. Arsenal were happy with the draw, as for the first time since Pep Guardiola joined City, Arsenal had not lost there.
It was the first time Man City had failed to score at home in over two years, and Arsenal’s defence made a statement that they could effectively shut out the likes of Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
Arsenal won 16 of their last 18 games. The draw at Man City was one of the two games they did not win, with a home defeat to Aston Villa in April the other.
Had Arsenal beaten Villa, they would have won the league even with the draw at City, but had they gone in with a more attacking gameplan and lost at the Etihad, then they would have been out of the title race for good.
In the game, Arsenal had a huge opening to take the lead late on when Leandro Trossard dribbled into space, but he failed to find the open Gabriel Martinelli in the box, and this was a title-turning moment.
