Rafael van der Vaart seems to be determined to embarrass himself with silly comments lately, and Arsenal have often been the focus of them.
That’s continued with his latest, relayed by FC Update, in which he’s questioned Arsenal’s quality and the level of the Premier League in general.
FC Update explain that the former midfielder was recently on Rondo on Ziggo Sport, where they were discussing Arsenal’s upcoming clash with Paris Saint-Germain the Champions League semi-finals.
The Gunners have made an impression in Europe this season and secured a stunning two-legged win over Real Madrid in the quarterfinals, beating them 3-0 at home and 1-2 at the Bernabeu to secure their progression.
They’re now set to take on PSG, who some consider the best side in Europe this season, and it seems Van der Vaart doesn’t fancy their chances.
“I don’t believe that Arsenal will compete for the championship,” he said.
“A nice team, but I think it’s a bit like the AZ of England. A bit like a youth team.”
This was then questioned by his fellow pundit at the table, Mats Deijl, who was full of praise for the Premier League in general.
“If you watch an Eredivisie match on Saturday afternoon and then one in the Premier League in the evening, it seems like a different world,” he said. Van der Vaart, though, was having none of that.
“It’s not that bad. I loved playing there, they’re all so stupid there. Never cover, you get all the space. Only: because the audience is so close to the field, and you really experience that in your living room, it seems super-fast. But it’s not that bad, in terms of football, it’s really not that bad.”
He, then, appears to think that Arsenal aren’t a good team because he doesn’t think the Premier League is up to much either.
We, though, would point out that Van der Vaart seems to be out to put Arsenal down lately, having also criticised Bukayo Saka with ridiculous comments as well.
They were roundly ridiculed, particularly as he shone at the Bernabeu, and we’d expect these latest nonsense comments from him to be treated with equal short shrift.
