Arsenal have been Liverpool’s closest challengers all season, but a shock defeat by West Ham last weekend has Mikel Arteta’s side 11 points behind the title leaders
Olivier Giroud says Mikel Arteta will bounce back from more heartbreak to end Arsenal’s long wait for a Premier League title.
The Gunners have been Liverpool’s closest challengers all season, but a shock defeat by West Ham on Saturday has seen them fall 11 points behind the runaway title leaders ahead of Wednesday night’s clash with Nottingham Forest.
With just 12 matches left to play, time is running out for Arteta again as he bids to win the club’s first crown since Arsene Wenger’s 2004 Invincibles.. They came close the last two seasons but were pipped by Manchester City, and now Arne Slot’s side are on track to deliver a third successive blow – with the pressure mounting on Arteta.
But Giroud, 38, knows all about the manager’s mindset, having played alongside the Spaniard during a six-year spell at the Emirates that saw them win two FA Cups together.
The striker, now plying his trade in the MLS with LAFC, said: “He can take that final step. He’s done a great job. I would say there’s been a continuity, in a different style, but a continuity of what Arsenal have done. He’s got time. He had time to improve the team and to set up his ideas.
“He’s one of the best managers in Europe now. He’s shown it. He brought Arsenal back to near the top of the league. I would love to see them win the league. But the competition is really tough.
“You never know what can happen. Mikel will never give up. I wish them to win. It’s like Chelsea, it’s different since I left. They changed so many things and they’re rebuilding the team with a lot of young, talented players. I think they have a bright future.”
While Giroud may have high hopes for Arsenal, Chelsea – another of his former clubs – have endured a trickier season. The Blues have suffered three defeats in their last four league matches and Enzo Maresca’s side are now in a heated battle to qualify for the Champions League.
Giroud – who lifted the World Cup in 2018 – won the European Cup with Chelsea but they have suffered a dramatic downfall since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover in 2022.
Boehly and Co have overseen a gigantic overhaul of the playing squad and Giroud admits it could be some time before they are back challenging at the top end of European football. He added: “So many people I used to work with at the club left. They changed a lot of things.
“The owner changed with different philosophy ideas. On paper, they have a great squad now. A lot of young, talented players. Give them time. That’s what you need when you change a lot of things in a team.
“The expectations have always been really high at Chelsea, especially. When I joined the club, I felt that.
“But now you cannot ask them to be at the top, because you change one more time. You change so many things and so many new players. You need to find the recipe to give them time to grow and to go back to the top.”
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