Ex-Arsenal forward Niall Quinn discusses Mikel Arteta, what the Gunners need to win the title and offers VAR solution

In the third part of a Ladbrokes Fanzone exclusive, former Arsenal striker Niall Quinn discusses Mikel Arteta, the need for a striker, the title race and VAR.

Click on the links for part one in which he talked about his relationship with Roy Keane and part two for his thoughts on the Sunderland docuseries, Jobe Bellingham and Tony Mowbray.

Arteta can change the game, just like Wenger and Guardiola

Bukayo Saka is one of my favourite players. I think Leandro Trossard is an entertaine and William Saliba is a very good player at the back.

What I like about this team is that I think they’ve kicked on a bit from last year. They look more confident, they look ready for the fight. That’s not to say they’re suddenly going to turn over Manchester City. I like that these young players, full of talent, are becoming men. They’ll have to be, if they’re to take on Man City. Liverpool are firing now, too.

I’m really happy for the club. I was there at a time where it was like being in the army under George Graham. Everything was geared around not losing, and making sure we were strong physically, and all of that kind of thing. The game was played differently back then. And then Arsene Wenger breezed into town, and not only did Arsenal Football Club change, but Premier League football changed too.

The great team that he assembled was one part of it, but also the way that Arsenal started to play football, and how the rest of the division started to take note, that was noticeable. Arsenal led the way. Manchester United were very dominant, too, but they were the last real throwback, if you like, to those teams of old. They were built on a great goalkeeper, strong base, strong spine. OK, then the Ryan Giggs’, the David Beckhams and the Eric Cantonas came along and dressed it up a bit, but first and foremost they were that unit who were so hard to beat.

Arsenal and Arsene changed the way the game was played. Man City under Pep Guardiola changed it years later. And I think Arteta has his team, next in there, ready to go and be the next ones to change things. Jurgen Klopp is in a different position right now because of player turnover. Three years ago I thought Liverpool were going to be around for 10 years. It looked as if everything was all set but then they had that awful season, and I still think they’re a little bit hit and miss. But what Arsenal and Arteta have, I think, is a foundation to come in and challenge Man City for the title. Please don’t say I’m writing off Liverpool, because I’m not!

As an ex-Arsenal man, I enjoy watching them again, I really do. If Arsenal are playing, I know it’s going to be a good game –  I know I’m going to be entertained.

Ivan Toney to Arsenal? We’ll know a lot more over the next few weeks

The big thing, for me though, is the need for a striker. Whether you’re playing the way Pep Guardiola plays, or any other team in the division, you need to have a striker scoring goals. That’s what I’d like at Arsenal. Put it this way, if Erling Haaland was loaned to Arsenal for the rest of the season, I’d absolutely be backing them to win the league!

That’s the one area that may just hold them back. Goals are everything – it’s never changed. I can remember being told that when I went to Arsenal in 1983, and here we are, 40 years later, and we’re still saying it. Goals are everything.

How do you get the best of the best in these positions, though? They’re locked up to their clubs in handcuffs. Over the years, with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they’ve gone for those players who were just below the best. I’m not saying they weren’t great players, but it’s difficult to land that one big star. They’ll be looking all the time, though, identifying talent. I know their recruitment process is second to none. But it’s hard to say who comes in and fills that need for goals.

I like Gabriel Jesus. He plays so well with his back to goal, he can play, he brings players in, and he’s a good foil to have. If he learned to score 25 goals in a season, then they wouldn’t need to bring anyone in! But that’s not the case. There’s been talk of Ivan Toney at Brentford over the last few months. I really don’t know the club’s thinking at this moment in time. They’ve stayed silent on the situation since that speculation started, that the striker was coming. But I think we’ll know a lot more by the time that January transfer window opens up. A lot more will come out, I’m sure of that. Of course, though, there’s still a lot of football to be played before then.

Gunners have learned so much since THIS moment in February

It was so important Arsenal got a result against Burnley last weekend, not only because of the international break coming up, but also off the back of that defeat last time out in the league at Newcastle. I admire Mikel Arteta, because he has a great record when it comes to getting his team to bounce back from adverse games. I’ll refer back to the biggest and most recent example, last season against Manchester City, when they came to the Emirates. City gave Arsenal a lesson in how you win a title, almost, by beating them comprehensively. I was at that game, and I thought there was a real buzz around the ground, and Arsenal were right up for the challenge.

But by the time the second half was well under way, City had dominated, and they’d pressed this seniority over their opponents. And I really worried about Arsenal after the game. It was a tough loss to take, and the energy and the buzz that was inside the stadium before the game had evaporated totally. There was total dejection as fans left the stadium. Everybody knew how big a defeat it was. OK, it wasn’t a huge defeat on paper in terms of the goals conceded, but it was massive because of what it meant in the title race. I wondered how they were going to pick themselves up from it, but they went on to win their next seven games in the league.

That showed me that Arsenal were in a different place to where we’ve seen them in the last few years, and now I think they’ve even kicked on again. There are always going to be setbacks. Man City have setbacks, too – it’s just about how you react to them.

I really like the way Arteta gets his team going. I was very worried when he started whinging and crying after the Newcastle defeat, blaming everybody else for the loss. And I wondered how his players would react to that. But by game time, they came around and coasted to victory at the weekend.

He’s going places, Mikel. He’s putting it up to his old boss this year, there’s no doubt about that. I think they’re in a much better place, and I think they’ll have learned so much from that Man City game at the Emirates last February.

We’re entertained by this Arsenal team every week. OK, Mikel was crying at the officials after the Newcastle game, and I wasn’t so happy with that when I saw it. But the most important thing is that he got his team to bounce back, so fair play to him.

I played for Arsenal and Man City, but here’s who I want to win title

I spent an equal amount of time at my three clubs: Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland. I spent around seven years at each of them. Arsenal was where I learned about football and life, in many ways, as a single lad in London, trying to find my way. I’m a little disappointed. I played over 90 times for them, and I think I got 21 goals. It’s not enough to start calling the shots and telling everyone how they should be playing today. I wish it had been more, but I have a fondness for the club.

I played for a different Man City than the one you see today. I played around 250 games for them at a time when Man United were really starting to fire under Alex Ferguson. There are regrets there, too. We finished fifth, twice, as a young team, but that wasn’t enough, because United were doing so well. Since then, of course, they’ve turned into this machine. I was over there recently, and got a tour of what I call a university, never mind academy! It really was incredible stuff.

I don’t think it would be a bad thing for the game if Arsenal got the better of them this year. It doesn’t mean I’m shouting for Arsenal to win the league, I just think it might be better for the game if the trophy gets shared out…but don’t tell Pep Guardiola that!

In terms of other challengers, you know, Liverpool are knocking on the door again. Chelsea and Man United are off the pace, and as for Spurs, there’s definitely something unique in what that manager is doing over there, that other managers don’t do, and it’s shown results, that’s for sure. They’d make up my top four, with Arsenal, Liverpool and City. But as for how things pan out at the top of the table, I still think City are the ones who’ll be there. When Kevin De Bruyne comes back, too, and does all of his stuff, they’re going to be so difficult to stop.

Ex-players should be on board for making VAR decisions

There was no VAR in my time, and in many ways that very much killed the debate after the game, whenever anything really controversial happened. There might have been a few replays, but that was basically it. When VAR was introduced and those controversies were meant to be removed from the game, we were all happy with it. VAR was meant to be the promised land, but it turns out it’s not. If anything, it brings about even more debate, and lights the fuel further.

A point is so precious, a goal is so precious. Not only the monetary value, but also what it means to a manager of a club trying to make his way up the ladder. So I understand the frustration, there’s no doubt about that. VAR’s interpretations aren’t always what we all think they should be, and that hurts.

I would say that the spontaneous delight of scoring a goal – that fabulous moment when a stadium erupts  – has been taken out of the game now. Half of you wants to celebrate, the other half is wondering whether or not the goal is going to stand. That’s the thought of every fan when the ball hits the net these days, and I’m not sure that’s good for the game.

In relation to what Arsenal did, and the pressure that they’ve put on the FA, and the PGMOL, and whoever…listen, I’m fully in the camp that ex-players should be involved in decisions that happen in a split instant, on a pitch, in a cauldron of a situation. You need people who have been in those situations before – you need them to have an input.

I might stand corrected by the administrators of the game who say referees do a better job. I’m telling you, players know. I would argue I’d get 10 out of 10 offside decisions right before they go to VAR. I know the players that I played with would do exactly the same thing. I’d love to see good, quality, professional, retired footballers, coming in and bringing their expertise, because if things stay the way they are, we’re going to keep having Arteta-esque incidents. We’re going to have more outbursts, we’re going to see more mistakes. and we’re going to see more clubs making statements.

Is it a good part of the game? I don’t think it’s lived up to what it was supposed to achieve, and I believe there’s a better way of doing things…and that’s by getting ex-players involved.