Former Arsenal forward Alan Smith has said that there is “no concern” that Arsenal rely on their set-piece goals.
Everything is looking positive for the Gunners at the moment, with Mikel Arteta‘s side top of the Premier League table, and having won three games from three in the Champions League.
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Their most recent win in Europe was a 4-0 win against La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, who were simply taken apart by Arteta’s side at the Emirates on Tuesday night. After the game, many pundits were quick to praise Arsenal, suggesting that they could be not only the favourites for the Premier League, but also for the Champions League.
However, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara criticised the Gunners for playing “boring” football, and he blamed them for making Premier League teams play set-piece-heavy football, and a new reliance on long throw ins.
He said on Sky Sports News: “I can’t stand it, I hate it. It’s killing the game, especially the Premier League. It’s like watching non-league at the moment, some of the football I’m watching.
“I get it, some of the lesser teams like Brentford, if you’ve got a long throw then it can cause problems and maybe create a chance. But the top teams doing throw-ins? I can’t believe what I’m watching. It’s all down to Arsenal, Arsenal started this. Arsenal started the long throw, the set-pieces. They’ve killed the Premier League in terms of fluid football and enjoyable football.”
Alan Smith defends Arsenal amid O’Hara criticism
Amid all the criticism around Arsenal at the moment about the way they are playing and potentially ‘killing’ the Premier League, former Gunner Alan Smith has said that there is no concern from his perspective.
He told GoonerNews.com exclusively via BestBettingSites.co.uk: “I think as long as you’re winning games, there’s no concern. And you’ll have faith that with the players they’ve got, they can create from open play.
“So, the fact that they did that against Atletico will give them a bit more belief. Maybe if they needed it, they probably wouldn’t. But the set pieces are a great thing to fall back on, aren’t they? So, I don’t see a problem with that at all, to be honest with you. If it’s 1-0 to the Arsenal, great, but you can easily see them winning matches 4-0, as they did the other night.”
Click here to see Arsenal’s full first team squad heading into their game against Crystal Palace at the weekend.