Alan Smith makes title prediction and calls for key Arsenal star to be dropped | Football

Ex-Arsenal striker Alan Smith has backed the club to recover from their mini wobble and end their long wait for a Premier League title.

Arsenal have seen their lead at the top of the table cut to just four points having faltered in each of their last three matches against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.

Sunday’s heavyweight contest got off to a positive start for the Gunners as United centre-back Lisandro Martinez directed the ball into his own net on the half-hour mark at the Emirates.

But Michael Carrick’s Red Devils showed great resilience to emerge with a 3-2 victory, with a pair of stunning strikes from Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha proving decisive in north London.

Both Manchester City and Aston Villa had won earlier in the weekend to keep the pressure firmly on the league leaders ahead of their trip to Leeds in four days’ time.

Arsenal’s defensive capabilities have never been in question this season considering they have conceded just 17 times in the English top flight, four goals better off than their nearest rivals City.

But there are growing concerns amongst the fanbase surrounding Mikel Arteta’s lack of firepower at the other end of the pitch, with the club sitting 17th in the league for goals scored from open play (20).

‘Obviously Bukayo Saka is world-class. He hasn’t scored for a while by the way, but there’s no doubting his ability,’ Smith told Sky Sports News when asked about Arsenal’s attacking woes.

‘Viktor Gyokeres comes into the conversation, Kai Havertz when he’s fit isn’t an out-and-out centre-forward, Gabriel Jesus is but you certainly wouldn’t call him world-class.

‘You can win the league without having a 20-plus goalscoring centre-forward because look at the figures and Arsenal are in a dominant position.

‘But in an ideal world, you would want somebody you could rely upon to nick a goal when you’re up against it, score against the run of play, a poacher in the box.

‘Those players are worth their weight in gold and, at the moment, it’s fair to say Arsenal haven’t got one.’

Looking ahead to Saturday’s all-important trip to Leeds, Smith is anticipating a ‘tough’ contest in fron of a hostile Elland Road crowd.

‘They’ve got to bounce back, there’s no doubt about that,’ the former England international explained.

‘Leeds and then Sunderland at home. Leeds played really well last night [against Everton], in the first half particularly. The tide turned in the second half but they’ve got plenty going for them.

‘That’s going to be a tough one in front of those Elland Road fans but if you’re going to win the league you’ve got to be able to go to places like that and get the win really, particularly after the run of results they’ve had, being far from ideal.

‘They need to get back on the horse and start winning games again.’

Once regarded among the very finest midfielders in Premier League football, Odegaard has badly struggled to replicate the kind of form that earned him a place in the PFA Team of the Year two years running.

The Arsenal skipper was especially ineffective against United on Sunday afternoon and Arteta had seen enough by the 58th minute, hauling off the Norwegian for Eberechi Eze as part of a quadruple substitution.

According to Smith, Odegaard’s sub-par performances of late mean now is probably the right time to give Eze an ‘extended run in the team’.

Asked if he still believes Arsenal will win the league title, Smith replied: ‘Yeah, I think so.

‘I’ve got to go with the Gunners. It would be a major fall from grace if they didn’t win at this point.

‘They’ve got the best squad in the league, there’s no doubt about that. So yeah, I think they will get themselves together.

‘I think Arteta might just need to tweak his system a little bit and change some personnel perhaps.

‘Perhaps it’s time now to give Eze an extended run in the team instead of Odegaard, who has struggled a little bit, so I’m sure Arteta will be thinking about that going into the weekend and what he should do maybe to freshen things up a little bit.’

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