PAUL SCHOLES has claimed Arsenal would be the worst side to win the Premier League – despite his Man United side having the fewest points of any champion in 1997.
The Manchester United legend did not hold back with his view of the Gunners, who top the table by four points.
But Mikel Arteta‘s men are lacking a major goalscoring threat this season and their top scorer Viktor Gyokeres only has five strikes to his name.
Damning stats show that Arsenal‘s second-highest goalscorer is ‘own goals’ on four and some have claimed the club’s attacking struggles could hinder their title bid.
Scholes brutally insisted none of Arsenal’s forwards would get in the team of the season so far.
And he said the Gunners would be the worst team to get their hands on the Premier League – in terms of players’ performance – should they end their 22-year wait for a title.
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He told the Good, the Bad and the Football podcast: “If Arsenal win the league, this could be the worst team to win the league.
“If you’re thinking of picking a team of the season and picking the front four, nobody from the Arsenal team gets in that.
“Look at previous champions – Liverpool‘s forwards, brilliant. Possibly the only one is Saka, and I don’t think he’s been brilliant. He’s not scored many goals this year or assists.”
But Scholes’ comments have backfired given that he was part of the United team that were statistically the worst ever champions in the 1996-97 season.
That team under Sir Alex Ferguson managed only 75 points, with nearest challengers Newcastle only securing 68.
The next worst was actually Arsenal the following season, when Arsene Wenger pipped rival Sir Alex to the title with 78 points. United had one point fewer.
The following season United one-upped Arsenal once again with 79 points as the Gunners repeated their tally from the previous campaign.
In the 2000-01 season, United had 80 – a significant drop from their 91 points in 1999-2000.
A decade later in the 2010-11 campaign they repeated that tally before fairytale winners Leicester managed 81 in 2015-16.
United also secured 82 in 1995-96, 83 in 2002-03 and 84 in 1992-93.
Last year’s title winners Liverpool finished the season with 84 points, making them the tenth-worst champions.
Current league leaders Arsenal have 50 points with 15 games remaining. They have 15 wins, five draws and three losses, scoring 42 goals and letting in just 17.
Manager Arteta has dismissed concerns about his Arsenal side after their 3-2 home loss to United on Sunday and said he is still confident they can win the league.
The Spaniard said: “I told them first of all how good they are and how grateful we are to share every single day with them.
“And just make sure that we enjoy it with a lot of conviction, that it’s going to happen (win the Premier League) because it’s our moment and we really want it.
“This is going to be the mindset and where we’re going to put the energy.”
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