Michail Antonio has jokingly hit out at Arsenal fans and has called them delusional, despite lauding the north London club for how well they have performed this season.
Arsenal fans may have a lot to smile about at the moment, with their side having won win eight league matches on the bounce – scoring a whopping 33 goals during that time – to see them rise right to the top of the Premier League standings.
With just two points separating Liverpool, Manchester City and the north London club at the top, things are gearing up for what could be one of the most thrilling conclusions to a Premier League title race that we have seen in a very long time.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport’s podcast The Players Channel, the West Ham striker said while laughing: ‘Arsenal fans, they annoy me.
Michail Antonio has poked fun at Arsenal supporters, claiming that they were ‘delusional’
Antonio claimed that it ‘annoyed him’ when Arsenal fans started to gloat about how good they are when they perform well
‘I’m talking about my agent my family and my friends. Because as soon as they are tiptoeing close to [winning] anything, they’re the best team in the world.
‘It’s actually unbelievable how delusional these people are.’
While his dig seemed in good nature Antonio has also admitted that Arsenal have impressed him this season after falling apart in the second part of the 2022-23 campaign.
‘I’ve been saying since the turn of the year City are doing it, but how Arsenal have been performing, they have become the City of the last three years, since the turn of the year.
‘They have done the complete opposite of what they did last year when they started the season until December, bossing it, and then, turn of the year, crumbled. Whereas they’ve come to the business end of the year, and they have completely and utterly turned it on.’
Back in 2023, Arteta’s side had been in the driving seat at the top of the Premier League table with nine league games remaining. Despite that, they would concede their spot at the top to Manchester City, after they were held to draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton.
The Hammers would hold Arsenal to a 2-2 draw, with Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen cancelling out earlier goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard – with Antonio starting up top for David Moyes’ side.
Antonio lauded the Gunners for their exellent form, with the north London side having won eight league games on the bounce while qualifying for the Champions League quarter-finals
Mikel Arteta’s side sit top of the Premier League table, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference
West Ham came back to seal a 2-2 draw vs Arsenal last season, with Antonio, who featured in the match, claiming he received some flack from his agent (an Arsenal fan) after the game
And the West Ham striker admitted that he copped a bit of flack from his Arsenal supporting agent after the match.
‘Bro, last year when we beat Arsenal at home when they were top of the league my agent, the agent I’ve been with since I was 19, called me up and called me a “wasteman”,’ he said laughing.
‘He said: “Why do you have to do this to me… It’s been so many years!” I was like: “Bro, we’re nearly getting relegated like – are you alright?”‘
Things have also been going well in Europe for Arsenal this season too. Despite suffering a defeat in their first round of 16 clash agaisnt Porto, Arteta’s side bounced back in the return fixture to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, beating Porto 2-1 on aggregate.
