Former Premier league winner and Sweden forward Freddie Ljungberg has blasted his former club Arsenal for wasting too much time and adapting an ultra defensive approach. His comments came after the Gunners lost 1-0 against the reigning champions Liverpool on matchday 3 at Anfield.
Arsenal visited Merseyside after winning both of their opening two matches against Manchester United and Leeds United. The Londoners, who are regarded as one of the strongest title contenders this season, were coming on the back of a 1-0 and 5-0 victories in their first two matches and were expected to at least draw against Liverpool in what was being labelled as a “title match” early in the season.
However, despite showcasing flashes of bright moments, Arsenal were ultimately not able to break through the stubborn Liverpool defense. Their forwards were held back by the Reds’ back 4 consisting of Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konate, skipper Virgil Van Dijk and summer signing Milos Kerkez.
A lot of it has to do with the kind of approach Mikel Arteta adopted for the high-profile clash against the Merseyside. Liverpool under Arne Slot have become much more organized in terms of positional play while also making sure to attack relentlessly whenever given the chance.
Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy was more about causing attacking chaos, but Arne Slot has retained the same elements in his own way. With that in mind, Mikel Arteta thought it will be best for his side to ensure Liverpool do not get many chances to attack and therefore he started the game with 4 centre-backs and 3 defensive midfielders.
Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino all started together but none of that worked out. Arsenal conceded the only goal of the match through a spectacular free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai in the closing minutes of the second half.
Due to Arteta’s defensive approach against Liverpool, Arsenal created less chances and the statistics tells us the story. Despite attempting 11 shots, they were unable to really test Alisson in the goal and had only one shot on target. Fans and experts both criticized Arteta for his ultra defensive approach which costed him the entire game.
In the upcoming games, Mikel Arteta will have to really figure out on how his side can break through stubborn defenses, especially when he faces teams in the UEFA Champions league. Former Arsenal winger Freddie Ljungberg, who won two Premier league titles with the club, was left frustrated with that performance as well as the approach.
He explained that it was very frustrating to see Arsenal function in a defensive system and not causing attacking threats, something the club is not known for doing. Ljungberg further stated that people are used to seeing the Gunners play more attackingly and break through defensive units through their offensive approach.
Another tactic that Ljungberg disapproved was their reluctance to play quicker when the game halted for free kicks or throw-ins.
“Unfortunately, yes it has (been) very frustrating. I have been affiliated with Arsenal for so long time, 20 years or so. When I was away travelling the world and people said I don’t really support you or Arsenal but I always want to see you guys play.” – Freddie Ljungberg told Viaplay.
“It was a beautiful football, offensive football, you are going for it, that was what I was most proud of… not the trophies not those kind of stuff and when I see Arsenal here today they minimize risk all the time. They’re taking a lot of time for example, the free kick and etc.” – Ljungberg added.
Ljungberg expresses sadness to see Arsenal play with low intensity and reveals Arne Slot’s complain to the 4th official
Freddie Ljungberg further criticized Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal for not doing enough and not playing with a high intensity despite having a set of fantastic players. The Swede expressed that he was sad to see his former club, known for their attacking intent, play sluggishly.
He also revealed that Arne Slot was even complaining to the 4th official about Arsenal’s tactic to take slow free kicks, goal kicks and throw-ins. Ljungberg was also furious to see the quality of Declan Rice’s free kick during the game.
“That is a little sad. I would like them to try a bit more. They have fantastic players. If you look at this – we’ve seen Arne Slot and his assistant, we were sitting almost next to them, they were screaming on the 4th official “sort this out” because it’s on every throw-in, every free kick, every goal kick and I must say it’s a little bit sad to see, then obviously I think the kick wasn’t the best either.” – Ljungberg continued.
Freddie Ljungberg concluded by saying that he wanted to see some more entertainment and flair in the game and that the teams involved were not doing justice to the league, which is known as the best in the world.
“In general it’s the best league in the world – two best teams in this league, I would like to see some more entertainment and some good Football.” – Ljungberg concluded.
