Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has hit again on the criticism that has come the membership’s manner after the work Mikel Arteta has performed to toughen his gamers up and enhance their method to set items.
For therefore a few years, Arsenal had been ridiculed for being a workforce and not using a Plan B, and for being an excessive amount of of a mushy contact in opposition to bodily opponents who tried to take advantage of their weaknesses from set items.
Nothing may very well be farther from the reality in relation to this bodily imposing workforce Arteta has put collectively, which appears much more streetwise and able to dig in than a number of the gamers from the latter a part of Arsene Wenger’s reign.
And but, there has nonetheless been criticism of the Gunners, with some pundits clearly now feeling they’ve taken issues too far as they performed very defensively away to Manchester Metropolis final week, even when that was doubtless additionally influenced by being down to 10 males for the whole second half.
Rice defends Arsenal techniques amid criticism
Rice, nonetheless, is having none of it, with the England worldwide giving some perception into the inner discussions the gamers have about the right way to cope with their opponents, and insisting that it’s simply one thing regular that different groups do as properly.
“Clearly with the sport schedule, it’s actually powerful to get onto the grass and actually observe, so we simply have inside discussions about what we’re going to do,” Rice stated, as quoted by the Metro.
“Look, there’s at all times going to be conversations about us blocking and making fouls, however I believe the targets we have now scored from set-pieces this season, I don’t assume there was one foul concerned.
“Generally folks search for a foul or persons are mentioning that we’re dishonest in a manner on set-pieces as a result of we’re blocking, nevertheless it’s a part of the sport.
“Groups do it to us and we’re simply attempting to take advantage of different groups’ weaknesses. We discovered a manner to do this once more (in opposition to Leicester).”