Graeme Souness has struck out at Arsenal following their thrilling 2-2 draw with Manchester City and is no longer backing them to win the Premier League championship.
Graeme Souness has accused Arsenal of having a “inferiority complex” against Manchester City and is no longer certain that they can win the Premier League.
The Gunners were down to ten men at halftime in last week’s tense match at The Etihad, but they still led 2-1 going into the second half. After the interval, they dug in, but John Stones scored a late equaliser.
Arsenal are hoping to improve on last year’s title loss to City on the final day of the season, and Souness had predicted they would win the league before the new season.
However, the Liverpool great was unimpressed with what he witnessed from Mikel Arteta’s side last Sunday and is now questioning his original forecast.On William Hill’s new Three Up Front podcast, Souness stated, “Arsenal had such an inferiority complex against City.” They’ll leave the game thinking, ‘Wow, they’re so much better than us; we’ll never win the league’. Even in the first half, they struggled to match City blow for blow. City are a fantastic squad, but when you go there, you must be daring and challenge them. Teams are currently traveling to the Etihad and being defeated before the game even begins.
“I said Arsenal would win the league at the start of the season, but now I’m doubting myself. I believe they are improving, but they have demonstrated an inferiority complex when it comes to City. They were content to sit back and absorb whatever came their way at the Etihad, rather than getting up on the pitch and causing a nuisance. I do not believe that was a good indication.”
Arsenal sacrificed Bukayo Saka at halftime after Leandro Trossard’s expulsion put them at a numerical disadvantage. They spent the whole second half getting players behind the ball in an attempt to keep City out, and Souness said it made for a “horrible spectacle”.He said, “I was dissatisfied with what I saw in Sunday’s game between Manchester City and Arsenal; it was no advertisement for the Premier League. There are ways to approach a game when you’re down to ten men, such as switching to two banks of four with one up front, so you can still move up the pitch. They did not do that.
“Arsenal hardly got out of their box, let alone their own half; it was a horrific spectacle. The commentators tried to make it sound exciting and engaging, but I found it uninteresting. If I had played for Arsenal in that game, I would not have liked it. They effectively told Manchester City, ‘You’re so much better than us, therefore this is how we feel we have to play. There are numerous methods to play after a player is sent off. If you play like that 100 times, 95% of the time, you will allow goals.
“Arsenal has a fantastic team of players, but I thought they could have done more. Mikel Arteta’s mindset of playing less adventurously was carried too far versus City, and they should have approached the game differently.”
