Arsenal legend Pires says Gunners have firepower for Premier League title push, ahead of side’s crucial Burnley test
- Arsenal go to Turf Moor on back of 6-0 thrashing of West Ham United, a game in which five different players scored
- Boss Mikel Arteta only has two recognised strikers in his squad, and has relied on the likes of Leandro Trossard to lead the attack
Arsenal legend Robert Pires said his former club had the firepower to sustain a Premier League title charge, as the striker-light Gunners prepare for a critical trip to relegation-threatened Burnley on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta has only two recognised centre-forwards in Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, and following an injury for Brazilian Jesus, the manager has asked either Leandro Trossard, or the much-maligned Kai Havertz, to operate as a ‘false nine’.
Midfielder Havertz, signed from Chelsea last summer, led the line in a vital victory over Liverpool this month, and for last Sunday’s 6-0 trouncing of West Ham, when Arsenal had five different goalscorers, it was diminutive Belgian Trossard operating at the tip of a fluid attack.
Arsenal are two points behind leaders Liverpool, and level with Manchester City, who have played a game less, and cannot afford to slip up at Turf Moor this weekend.
“People said Arsenal should have signed a striker [last summer, and again in January], but I do not agree,” Pires told the Post.
“I think the players they have are enough, and the way they are playing, we should believe in them. Kai Havertz was up front against Liverpool, and look at the result. The attitude of a player is as important as his quality: if the attitude is good, they make different roles work. The quality of Arsenal’s forwards is very good, but their attitude is the best.
“I think Arsenal overall are much stronger than last season, with a really big spirit and commitment.”
Pires was a dashing, ball-carrying winger in the fabulous Arsenal Invincibles team that went an entire English top-flight season unbeaten in 2003-04.
And in Arteta’s use of marauding wide men, he sees parallels between the current side, who have scored 53 goals in 24 league matches, and Arsene Wenger’s team of 20 years ago.
Of today’s generation of wingers, Pires is especially fond of Bukayo Saka, who the Frenchman coached during time working in the Arsenal academy.
“When you have a talent like Bukayo’s, you are more confident and comfortable [than less gifted players], but the most important thing is to work hard every day,” Pires said.
“He is a great player, but his attitude is the same as Mikel’s: very professional. He is humble, too, and listens to other players, like Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.
“I love that if he sees the chance to make a difference, he tries to do it.
“He is always dribbling with the ball, and, I know from my career, it is not easy in that position. Today, you do not see many players running with the ball, which is sad. In my time at Arsenal, along with me, there was Freddie Ljungberg, Sylvain Wiltord, and Jose Antonio Reyes.
“Now they have Bukayo, Trossard, and Gabriel Martinelli, who I love to watch. He is fast, dangerous and scores good goals.”
Pires rates Norwegian Odegaard as Arsenal’s talismanic equivalent of Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City.
And in firebrand boss Arteta, whose demonstrative touchline demeanour divides opinion, Pires insists Arsenal have the perfect leader to navigate a high-stakes run-in that includes visits to Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United.
“He is so passionate about his job,” Pires said. “Managing is so different from being a player, and in his head, I think he still has the feelings of a footballer. He is very close with the players.
“But he is already at a very high level, as a manager. The way he is on the bench is very positive, I like it. It creates energy, and sends a good message to the players and the fans.
“To win the league is so difficult, because you are competing with Manchester City and Liverpool. The most important thing, this time, is to still be fighting at the end of the season.”
