Arsenal have been one of the heavy spenders in the summer transfer window as they have invested on some exceptional players.
However, their unbeaten streak in the Premier League this season came to an end before the international break when they lost to Liverpool at Anfield.
While it was a close game as both teams were extremely underwhelming until Dominik Szoboszlai came up with a sensational freekick goal to hand Liverpool a crucial win.
Recently, former Arsenal defender, Gael Clichy, who was part of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles squad after moving to North London in 2003, questions Mikel Arteta’s style of play.
The Frenchman voiced his concerns about Arteta’s unimaginative approach and felt the Spaniard lacked ambition against the Reds.
“Arsenal is coming to a place where the idea and identify of Arsene Wenger’s football is not seen much anymore,” Clichy said in an interaction with Metro.
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“We don’t talk about how well Arsenal played these days, we talk about how difficult they are to break down or how impressive they are on set pieces. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic and it’s part of the game you need to exploit but if we talk about what Arsenal used to be and what Arsenal is today, there’s nothing to compare anymore.”
What did Clichy say about Arteta’s style under Arsenal?
Arsenal had a brilliant first half and took as many as seven shots against Liverpool at Anfield but unfortunately, they failed to score a goal, and the second half was much more open, and Liverpool got a lucky goal from a freekick.
But pundits and fans were not happy with how Arteta managed his players and felt they wanted to avoid defeat rather than pushing for a victory against the defending champions at their own den.
Clichy understands that Arteta has different philosophy to Wenger, and he is ready to surrender to the manager’s demands, but he personally believes that there’s lack of ambition from him and the club.
“We have to accept the manager wants something different. And maybe with the wingers and striker we have, we see more of this old-school way. But we also have to tell it like it is – we have also maybe seen a lack of ambition from Arsenal as a club and from Mikel.
“When you look at that game against Liverpool, you can see a team that is not concerned about winning but a team excited not to lose a game. This is very subtle, but this is a massive difference for a team that is competing for the title. So hopefully this will change with the players they have now.
Liverpool have struggled defensively this season before the Arsenal game, conceding four goals in their first two league games.
“Liverpool started the season very fragile, giving up opportunities. But Arsenal did not exploit that, they did not want to hear it. This is the part where Mikel needs to adjust. Yes, you will win points, I have heard him saying how they are the team who have won the most points over the last three years. But you haven’t won anything. It is not a question about points, it is going to those places and getting the win.”
Arsenal will return to Premier League action on Saturday, September 13 at the Emirates Stadium against Nottingham Forest.
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