At a Glance:
- Arsenal are on the brink of winning the Premier League title.
- The Gunners have faced significant criticism for their style of play.
- Sean Dyche has defended Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal are on the cusp of winning a historic Premier League and Champions League double, and Sean Dyche has subsequently revealed his belief that Mikel Arteta deserves immense credit for this.
The Gunners currently sit three points clear at the summit of the English top flight, and they have the chance to extend that gap to six points when they host Fulham on Saturday. If Arteta’s outfit do indeed emerge from this clash against the Cottagers with a victory, Manchester City will be under enormous pressure when they visit Everton on Monday night at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Meanwhile, Arsenal were held by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Gunners controlled Atletico in the opening 45 minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano, and will be confident that they can overcome the Spanish side in the second leg next week.
Sean Dyche defends Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s style of play
Arsenal have been consistently lamented for their style of play this season. Many have criticised Arteta’s side for being dull to watch and focusing too much on the defensive side of the game.
While there is no doubt that the Gunners have not been the great entertainers this term, the criticism of them has almost suggested that this style makes them less worthy potential winners and has undermined just how good they actually have been.
Former Everton boss Dyche has hit out at the Arteta sceptics, arguing that Arsenal tried to win the league playing with a more expansive style, and it didn’t work, so the Spanish correctly decided to alter his approach.
“I actually think Arteta, and as long as they do get it done of course, deserves a lot of credit because he’s had a lot of noise, you know, set-pieces and all that,” Dyche said on talkSPORT.
“But they couldn’t win the league doing it the other way. They tried playing the beautiful game, and they couldn’t find the final moments to go and see it over the line. So they’ve changed that this season.
“It seems pretty apparent to me. I saw some stats the other day, more long balls and that sort of stuff. Well fine, he’s gone right ok, ‘we tried that bit it didn’t work’.
“It would be more mad for me if they just kept doing the same thing and couldn’t win it, so they’ve tried something different, and so far, they’re in the driving seat. So can they get it over the line? We’ll have to wait and see.”
Sean Dyche is right to defend Mikel Arteta’s approach
Arsenal have been an elite defensive team for a few seasons, although Arteta has certainly turned the dial towards the control side of the game even more this season. The Gunners were somewhat suceptible in certain areas defensively in previous seasons, and Arteta has opted to remove these vulnerabilities, even if it has come at the expense of his attack.
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | GD |
| 1 | Arsenal | 73 | 34 | +38 |
| 2 | Man City | 70 | 33 | +37 |
The result has been an astonishingly good defensive team, which, until recently, was producing some of the best defensive metrics the league has ever seen. Their form has dipped in the last month or two, largely as a result of personnel issues, fatigue and nerves, but throughout the campaign they remain clearly one of the best two, if not the best team, in the league.
Critics are entitled to vent their frustrations over the pragmatic style, but denying how good Arsenal have been has become common practice, and it’s ridiculous.
A coach like Dyche, who is generally held in high esteem by the English media and public, vouching for Arteta’s approach should help to open people’s eyes to this.
