Jamie O'Hara clashes with Arsenal fan and says they won't win Premier League title without signing

Jamie O'Hara believes Arsenal won't win the league without a striker who scores 25 goals a season.

The Gunners have had the perfect start until the 2024/25 season, winning their first matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa.

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Mikel Arteta's side will fight to win the title in their third consecutive attempt after losing it Manchester City Again last year.

But former Tottenham midfielder O'Hara finds it hard to believe Arsenal will do so without a prolific striker, as they have yet to sign a number 9 who scores more than 25 goals a season.

Arsenal fan Rich called O'Hara and Jason Cundy into the Sports Bar on Monday night to discuss the former's comment on Sky Sports.

“You started off by saying 'Oh, I've had a couple of Arsenal fans who think they don't need a 25-goal striker in a season',” he said. “Then[you]put forward the valid argument that no team has ever won the Premier League without one.

“I searched and searched and searched and I couldn’t find any. So I have to congratulate you on that.”

He continued: “And I said I didn’t think we would lose to Aston Villa and I still don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t win the league.

“But on the point you mentioned about a 25-goal striker per season… So what I want to say to you is, if you are not conceding goals and we are scoring goals like we did, is it necessary for us to get a 25-goal striker?”

O'Hara replied: “My point is the same, Rich, as you just said. Nobody has ever won the Premier League without one.

“So, in the end, the evidence is clear. Yes, you score a lot of goals and could win the Premier League without one.

“But nobody has done it!”

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Last season, Arsenal's top scorer was Bukayo SakaThe winger scored 16 goals in 35 league appearances.

Meanwhile, Manchester City beat them to the title. with A striker with more than 25 goals, with Erling Haaland scoring 27 goals in 31 Premier League games.

However, after Sergio Aguero left Manchester City for Barcelona in 2021 and before Haaland signed for Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Pep Guardiola's side went an entire season without a senior No.9.

Kevin De Bruyne was their top scorer when they won the league in 2022, with 15 goals. As a team, Manchester City scored 99 goals, making them the fifth highest scoring team in the league's history.

Liverpool also relied on the firepower of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané in 2020, with the winger scoring 19 goals and Mané netting 18 goals.

Looking at the team, 14 of the last 18 seasons had a team with 20 or more goal scorers.

A team has ever won the Premier League with a player who scored more than 25 goals on only eight occasions.

“If you think about it, there isn’t one,” O’Hara said, trying to illustrate that teams have always had a player capable of scoring a large number of goals. “(Mohamed) Salah when Liverpool won, (Ruud) Van Nistlerooy, (Wayne) Rooney, (Carlos) Tevez, (Sergio) Aguero, (Erling) Haaland, (Thierry) Henry.”

Rich stepped in and said: “Okay, you've made your point. I don't think we need to sign (Ivan) Toney. If we sign that (Victor) Osimhen from Napoli, I don't know how quickly he would fit into our system and our way of playing.

“Maybe we can do it.”

Arsenal have been linked with Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Brentford's Ivan Toney in their hunt for a goalscorer.

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But Rich is not convinced they are the right strikers for the Gunners.

He added: “I don't know if there is a suitable striker for us to buy. Because you're right, J, the statistics are there, but I don't know if there is a striker who fits into our team.

“I think a Nico Williams or an Eze would make us better.”

Arsenal face Brighton at home on Saturday, live exclusively on talkSPORT, and the Seagulls have also made the perfect start to their Premier League campaign.