Arne Slot has fired several shots at Arsenal this season.
The Liverpool manager has made it very clear that he only likes free-flowing attacking football, and he has referenced his side’s games against PSG as an example on multiple occasions.
To add to that, Slot has repeatedly complained about teams that are physical, direct and make use of set-pieces against his side.
The Dutchman has also aimed a few digs at Arsenal about their set-piece prowess. Pep Guardiola has finally shut him down.
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Pep Guardiola issues perfect response after Arne Slot’s dig at Arsenal
There has been a lot of talk about Arsenal’s style of play this season.
Many people, including Paul Scholes, have branded the Gunners as boring, even though it’s their opponents who park the bus and take the excitement out of games.
When Liverpool came to the Emirates recently, the defending Premier League champions made no real attempt to win the game – they just dominated possession in the middle of the park and failed to create a single meaningful chance.
Despite that, as Football London reported, Slot aimed a ‘thinly-veiled dig’ at Arsenal by claiming that he’d rather play nice football than win trophies.
“As a manager, you can win the league, Champions League, the FA Cup or the League Cup, but the biggest thing you can win is that you can play the nicest football to watch,” he said.
Manchester City boss Guardiola was asked about the above comment, and he issued a perfect response.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “If you want to be a manager, you better win trophies. Otherwise, you won’t have the chance to play nice football.”
Guardiola added: “The most important thing is, and Arne knows this, defend your beliefs, your style, convince your players to try to do it in the way you believe is the best for the players you have. I think this is the most important thing.”
What is your response to people who say ‘Arsenal are boring’?
Are Arsenal really boring?
Anyone who complains about Arsenal’s style of play is wrong
It’s just lazy analysis to say that Arsenal have a boring style of football.
The Gunners are dominant in every phase of play, and they have the quality to beat teams through different styles depending on the opponent.
If teams sit back and defend deep like they usually do against Arsenal, the game does become boring because there is barely any space in the box.
That is not down to Mikel Arteta’s side – it’s the other teams’ fault for making the game ‘boring’.
When teams do come out and play, Arsenal usually blow them out of the water. That has happened in almost every single Champions League game this season.
Anyone who accuses the Gunners of being boring is wrong. Those people should start criticising the opponents for parking the bus instead.
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