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Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have found themselves targeted by criticism once again
Arsenal continue to face a barrage of criticism for their style of football as they edge closer to the Premier League title. The Gunners’ 1-0 away win against Brighton on Wednesday saw them restore a seven-point lead over rivals Manchester City in the title race, though City still have a game in hand.
It means Mikel Arteta's side need just seven more wins to guarantee their first Premier League trophy since 2004. But while there was sheer euphoria in the away end as the Gunners faithful celebrated both a win and City dropping points to Nottingham Forest, not everyone was impressed with Arsenal’s performance.
It was by no means a vintage display by the league leaders, who managed to score from a total of four shots, only two of which were on target. They managed just 42 per cent possession, went long spells without the ball, and created very few clear-cut chances.
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Similar performances this season have seen Arsenal regularly come under fire for their approach, with some pundits appearing especially agitated. Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has been one of the most vocal critics of Arteta’s brand of football in recent times.
The former midfielder most notably slammed the Spaniard for fielding a "very negative team" against Manchester City earlier in the season and claimed the manager has "gone back 20 years".
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Scholes said: "Yeah, it was a very negative team, I thought. He's almost gone back 20 years. And I know he's been in England a long time, but it feels like we've almost brought an English mentality to him, if you know what I mean.
"Just be cautious at first. Be safe and try to get through the game against a City team that is not… this isn't a Pep Guardiola team anyway, is it? Well, it is, but again, he's probably (doing) the same thing as well. He's been here 10 years. We’ve almost turned him into an English coach watching yesterday. Do you know what I mean?
"If there had been two English coaches, we'd have been saying, 'Worst coaches ever. The worst style of football we've ever seen.' But because it was them two [Arteta and Pep], they get away with it a little bit, don't they?"
Arsenal’s proficiency at dead-ball situations, especially corner kicks, has also been repeatedly sniffed at by some. Scholes echoed that feeling last month as he once more took a jibe at Arteta’s men.
He said: "If Arsenal win the league, this could be the worst team to win the league. If you’re thinking of picking a team of the season and picking the front four, nobody from the Arsenal team gets in that."
Scholes later apologised when confronted by Arsenal icon Ian Wright on the Stick To Football podcast. He clarified: "I meant to say the most boring team, not the worst team, sorry. You will be boring, but it doesn’t matter how you do it, does it?"
When the comments were put to Arteta in a post-match press conference, the manager laughed off the "boring" claim and insisted people all around Europe disagree. Asked why there was such a disparity of views at home and abroad, Arteta said: "I don’t know which people. You send me the names, the addresses and the email, and maybe we can talk, but I can’t give you a massive book of all the people."
In September, Scholes’ former team-mate Peter Schmeichel slammed Arsenal for playing an "ugly brand of football" due to their risk-averse approach against Liverpool at Anfield. The pundit said on Viaplay: "I have never in my life ever wanted a team to win a game of football more than Liverpool today.
"Arsenal bring an ugly brand of football to our game. I don't want to insult Arsenal, but their brand of football is so annoying to watch, it's designed to exploit opponents while waiting for set pieces."
Ahead of this week’s win over Brighton, opposition manager Fabian Hurzeler accused Arsenal of using underhand tactics and time-wasting during stoppages in play to stifle teams. That made for a heated atmosphere at the Amex and several frosty incidents on the touchline between the two managers.
Hurzeler was clearly frustrated at full-time and broke an unspoken rule among current Premier League managers to avoid criticising each other overtly in the media.
He said: "I love the effort from my boys, I loved how they played football. I think there was only one team who tried to play football today and therefore I'm proud of how they did it."
Hurzeler added: "I ask one question, did you see in the Premier League game a goalkeeper going down three times? No? So I think we shouldn't waste too many words about that tonight.
"We should focus on us, we should focus on our performance. We can't control these kinds of things. I think therefore the Premier League has to find the rule and it's not my business. I made my point before the game and I stick to it."
Arteta refused to acknowledge the Seagulls boss’ strong criticism, saying: "What a surprise! You just go back to the previous games and you'll find a lot of comments like this always.
"I love my players. That's the highlight. I love my players, we love our players and I love the way we compete. I think they [critics] love our players. I mean, every time they talk about our players, I think they are the most loved ones in the country."
Asked if he cares about what other managers think, Arteta replied: "Care? Yeah. Depends. On the comments. And the purpose of that."
Should Arsenal go on to secure the title, it will be Arteta and the Arsenal fans who have the last laugh after weathering constant scrutiny over the past seven months.
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