September 29th 2024.
According to Graeme Souness, Arsenal is getting away with their tactics, and he believes they are conning referees every week. He thinks it's time for referees to wake up and take notice of Arsenal's antics during set-pieces. In their recent match against Manchester City, Arsenal was accused of using the "dark arts" to secure a 2-2 draw. Despite going down to ten men, Arsenal's defensive tactics almost worked as City struggled to find an equalizer. However, City eventually scored in injury time, and some of their players were unhappy with Arsenal's tactics. John Stones even described them as "dirty," while Bernardo Silva accused them of time-wasting.
In response to the criticism, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended his team's tactics, saying it would be foolish to play any other way against a team like City. This sparked a back and forth with City's manager Pep Guardiola. While Souness respects Arsenal's approach, he did not like what he saw from them and believes they are conning referees every week during set-pieces. He writes, "I know how I would have felt if I were a player in that Arsenal team, leaving Manchester knowing that City had been so much better."
Souness believes playing defensively against a team like City is risky because of their qualities. He thinks that in 100 games, Arsenal would concede 95 times because City is so dominant in the box. He also points out that the mentality of big players is to think they are the best on the pitch, and no one in the Arsenal team would have enjoyed being dominated like that. He fears this may psychologically damage them going forward.
When it comes to set-pieces, Souness believes Arsenal has become a threat and that City's players were right to accuse them of using the "dark arts." However, he also states that time-wasting has always been a part of the game and that every team does it at times. He believes it's not as bad as the simulation that we see every weekend. He also points out that referees need to wake up to what Arsenal is doing during set-pieces and corners. He describes how they rotate blockers to avoid being caught by the referees.
Souness also shares his frustration with the fact that what happens during set-pieces would be considered a foul if it happened anywhere else on the pitch. He says if he were facing Arsenal, he would take three or four of his teammates in front of the referee and point out what's about to happen. He believes Arsenal is getting away with it every week and that they use the same tactics repeatedly without being caught.
Despite the controversy surrounding their tactics, Arsenal managed to secure a 4-2 win against Leicester City in their last match. This victory puts them in a good position as they aim for their first Premier League title since 2004. Manchester City dropped points in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United, and Liverpool's win against Wolves propelled them to the top of the Premier League table. As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see if Arsenal continues to use their "dark arts" tactics and if referees will start to take notice.
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