Arsenal fans have got clear reasons to not be too inclined to any feelings of warmth towards Harry Redknapp. Not only did ‘arry manage our arch rivals Tottenham for a few years, he fathered Jamie who played for the spuds and just loves to give the Gunners some stick in his role as a football pundit on TV.
But even though Redknapp had little nice to say about the Gunners during his time at White Hart Lane, I can understand that and it goes with the territory. In fact I cannot help but have a grudging admiration for him as a manager because he did run us as close as any Spurs team has in the last couple of decades and he did get them into the Champions League and into the quarter final.
So we should accept that he is very knowledgable about football and the Premier League specifically and that is why I was pleased to read his thoughts in a Daily Mail report on Arsenal and our imminent capture of the Chelsea keeper Petr Cech. Redknapp has no reason to big up the Gunners but it is clear that he thinks we are the club that Chelsea need to fear in their attempts to retain the BPL trophy.
The former Tottenham boss said, “It’s a great signing. I think it’s a massive signing. To have top quality goalkeeper is massive.
“I think Arsenal could now be the biggest challengers to Chelsea next season, particularly with maybe two more signings.
“I can understand where Jose is coming from.
“But in the end they can’t keep him there forever. Thibaut Courtois, for me, is the best keeper in the league.”
So is Harry right and can we do better than just putting up a fight and actually win the thing?