Redknapp: 'Arsenal championship will be a great achievement'
"I'm talking about the power of the fans and when you get that kind of trust at the Emirates, things are going to be very positive," said Redknapp after watching Arsenal beat Fulham 3-0 to maintain the five-year gap. points with Man City in the English Premier League. "They believe in the club, in the manager Mikel Arteta and that helps. Even when Arsenal make mistakes, the fans still believe and in fact they scored the decisive goal in the closing seconds of the game against Bournemouth last week. ".
The former England player said he was especially impressed with the way coach Mikel Arteta turned the situation at the Emirates Stadium, after the team only finished eighth in the 2020-2021 Premier League season and lost fourth place to rivals. Tottenham in the final rounds of last season. He thinks that if they can topple Man City this season, Arsenal will create one of the greatest feats in history.
However, Redknapp also emphasized that Leicester winning the 2015-2016 season will always be the greatest achievement in Premier League history and "that will not be overturned". At that time, Leicester entered the season under the guidance of coach Claudio Ranieri and was underrated in the Premier League when the odds of winning the championship at the beginning of the season reached 1 to 5,000. But in a strange season when the big teams played erratically, "Foxes" became a phenomenon and were crowned champions two rounds early.
As a guest of Fulham yesterday, Arsenal settled the game in the first half despite pressure from Man City winning the match a day earlier. In turn, Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard scored to help "Gunners" win 3-0. This result helped Arteta reach 100 victories in his 168th game in charge of Arsenal, achieving a win rate of 59.5% - the highest among Arsenal managers over the same period.
Arsenal also became the first club in English football history to reach five victories without conceding a goal when being a guest in derbies. Before defeating Fulham 2-0, Arteta's teachers and students won Crystal Palace 2-0, Brentford 3-0, Chelsea 1-0 and Tottenham 2-0, all away.
According to Redknapp, Arsenal have significantly improved in terms of mental strength and deserve the plaudits "no matter what happens for the rest of the season". He also thinks that the army under Arteta is the most worth watching club in the Premier League, with Man City playing erratically compared to previous seasons.
The former player born in 1973 also said that Arsenal had a favorable schedule when they received Crystal Palace in the next round on March 19, while Man City met Burnley in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup a day earlier. If they win, the "Gunners" will widen the gap to eight points and put great pressure on Man City for the rest of the season. Redknapp also emphasized that the direct confrontation between Arsenal and Man City at Etihad Stadium on April 26 will be decisive to the championship.
Jamie Redknapp has a father, Harry Redknapp - a coach who has led Tottenham and West Ham - and is a cousin of Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. Jamie was the mainstay of Liverpool from 1991-2002, before moving to Tottenham and then retiring with Southampton in 2005. On the England team, Jamie scored one goal in 17 matches. He is currently a commentator for Sky Sports and sports columnist at the Daily Mail.
