As Liverpool prepare to run out at Anfield for their final game of the decade wearing their FIFA World Champions badges upon their red shirts, Kopites might be surprised to hear Mikel Arteta's claim that Arsenal are “the biggest football club in England.”
Ahead of his first home match in charge of the Gunners against Chelsea, the newly-appointed manager, formerly Pep Guardiola's number two at Manchester City, declared: “There are some non-negotiables. The demands we put on the team, the commitment, the energy we put in, that dominance.
“We are the biggest football club in England, and we have to play a little bit with that arrogance, that belief.”
It's an intriguing shout from the 37-year-old to place such responsibility upon his shoulders as a rookie Premier League boss and the thinking behind what the suggestion is based upon appears unclear.
Arsenal (13) are in third place behind both Liverpool (18) and Manchester United (20) when it comes to League Championships won and unlike either of the North West rivals, they have never lifted the European Cup so much as once, never mind multiple occasions (six and three respectively).
After relocating from Highbury, the Gunners did for a time boast the largest club ground in London in the shape of their 60,704 capacity Emirates Stadium but even that has now been eclipsed by their biggest rivals Tottenham Hotspur (62,214).
Perhaps Arteta's past affiliations to Liverpool and Manchester United's neighbours have coloured the Basque's judgement or maybe he just omitted the word “southern” from his sentence?
