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Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has urged manager Mikel Arteta to let the Arsenal players play with freedom after their loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, August 31. He believes that the Gunners will do better and be more competitive in matches if the manager is not forcing them to stick to his system.
Speaking on ViaPlay, Schmeichel admitted that he wanted Liverpool to win the match at Anfield, as Arsenal went into the match with a defensive approach. He added that the Gunners would do better if Arteta was willing to give the players freedom to express themselves on the pitch and said (via Liverpool.com):
"I can honestly say that I have never in my life wanted Liverpool to win a game of football more than I did today. I was really disappointed and, in a way, a little bit angry with the way that Arsenal played this game. Their approach to the game — we built it up as one of the biggest games of the season, how important it is and what we are looking forward to. We want a really good game of football and what they bring to Anfield is an ugly brand of football."
"When you play like that for 82 minutes and then you go 1-0 down, it's impossible to change and come back. And I think with the talent they have - just look at the names on the teamsheet today and also the names on the bench - let them loose, let them play football. I am absolutely convinced that if Arteta lets this team play football, they will be more competitive, they will be more entertaining and they will win games."
Arsenal lost 1-0 at Anfield with Dominik Szobozlai scoring the lone goal of the match. The Hungarian scored from a free kick, beating David Raya from 30 yards out.
Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal did not have a negative approach to Liverpool
Mikel Arteta spoke to the media after the match, admitting that the game plan worked well. He added that the game was decided by a moment of magic and said (via the club website):
"We didn't do our gameplan to frustrate them; we did it to win it. I think we elevated the game and the dominance to a point that they had to raise it. They did, especially from the 60-78th minute, when then you could see that there were no margins in the game. When that happens, the game is going to be decided in two ways. One, with an individual error, and two, with a magic moment. Szoboszlai created a moment that was incredible, that has won the game, and that was the difference, nothing else."
Arsenal now sit 3rd in the Premier League table, three points behind Liverpool and two behind Chelsea. They face Nottingham Forest next, before traveling to face Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Champions League.
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Sripad is a veteran Sportskeeda football journalist who has been with the company for around 10 years. His tryst with writing happened in class XI when he started penning blogs, and his foray into football was during the early 2000s, watching matches with his cousins.
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If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.
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