Arsenal lead the Premier League by six points after Manchester City’s come-from-behind victory over Liverpool on Sunday, with Mikel Arteta’s side remaining heavy favorites to win the Premier League.
Arsenal lead by 6 points at the top of the Premier League (Image: 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Plc)
Manager Wayne Rooney believes Mikel Arteta could be sacked if he fails to win the Premier League title this season.
Arteta’s side are six points behind leaders Manchester City. Arsenal are currently bookmakers’ favorites to win the league for the first time since 2004. And with Arsenal in pole position, Rooney believes there is no excuse for Arteta’s side not getting the job done.
The England and Manchester United legend said on The Wayne Rooney Show: “I feel the same way about Arteta. If they don’t win this year, then Arsenal have supported him big time here and of course this year too, and they’ve given him a great team, so if they don’t win this year, there will definitely be pressure on Arteta.”
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Rooney believes Manchester City’s thrilling comeback to beat Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday would have confused Arteta. Liverpool took the lead with 16 minutes remaining, but City came back and won 2-1.
Had City lost last weekend, they would have been nine points behind Arsenal instead of six.
Rooney added: “The effect of that is huge because I remember when we (Manchester United) were in the title race, if we played on Saturday or played earlier and won, we were nine points behind. “You can tell by just going back to six points, and the way it happened. Obviously Liverpool got a goal up, so if this stays nine points, you think what a boost that would be for us.”
“But then City come back and it’s 100 per cent a waste of energy to watch that. So I think Arteta will just tell his players to focus on their job, on what they have to do.”
“Because you can get caught up in that and look at other people’s results. And I don’t think that’s a good thing. And they[Arsenal]will look at the upcoming games and try to calculate how many points they feel they will win or City will win.
“You get caught up in everything, but at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is whether you win the game or not. That’s it.”
Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC Sport YouTube and iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds. Episodes drop every Friday and Monday morning.
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