Alan Shearer is furious at the criticism leveled at Arsenal this season, but the Gunners are determined to compete in all four competitions this season.
Alan Shearer disputes criticism of Arsenal
Alan Shearer has staunchly defended Arsenal against criticism of their performances this season. Mikel Arteta led his team to the FA Cup quarter-finals at the weekend, continuing their impressive run in all competitions.
The Gunners remain in contention in all four tournaments this season and are within striking distance of a historic quadruple. Arteta’s side currently sit seven points adrift at the top of the Premier League with eight games remaining.
They are scheduled to face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on March 22nd and are one of the favorites to win the Champions League. Arsenal booked their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Mansfield Town on Saturday. Despite their success on the field, Arsenal have come under heavy criticism for their style of play and alleged use of the “dark arts”.
read more: FA Cup quarter-finals chaos ensues as Arsenal and Liverpool await their fate
But Shearer dismissed the negative comments about the north London club, insisting he was “not in the mood” as Arsenal continue to enjoy an exceptional season. The former Newcastle United striker expressed his frustration at recent criticism leveled at Arsenal on the podcast The Rest is Football, saying: “I don’t take the criticism, I don’t understand it.”
“As I said before, they finished first in their Champions League group, reached the final[of the Carabao Cup]reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and are seven points clear in the Premier League, yet people still find ways to criticize them. Please!”
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“No matter what standards you look at it, no matter who you look at it, no matter what position you’re in, no matter where you are in the cup or the league, they’re definitely flying. Forget all the other comments, the negative comments, they’re flying. They can’t do any better at the moment.”
Richards responded to Shearer’s words, insisting that if Arsenal win the league in May, no one should care how Arsenal play. “I don’t want to be negative, (but) they haven’t won anything yet,” he said.
Arsenal will be competing for four trophies this season (Image: Arsenal FC, Getty Images)
Shearer added that Arsenal had been impeccable so far, to which Richards replied: “It depends. In terms of results, yes. In terms of their style of play, when you look at them and analyze them, they scored a lot of goals from set-pieces and they had a lot of own goals.”
“I don’t think it’s wrong for people to criticize that, but I also don’t think it’s right for people to be negative just because they say ‘Arsenal don’t play good football’. The goal at the end of the season is to win the league, but who cares how you cross the line?”
“But the point I was trying to make a few weeks ago is that Arsenal are the favorites to win the Champions League because it suits them better. We have emphasized this point in particular with Anthony Gordon. In the Champions League there is more tension and people get more chances, so you give him room to score.”
“In the Premier League everyone goes into the low block and I thought Man City would be more capable of breaking teams down when they go into the low block. Who cares if Arsenal win the league playing like this? At the end of the day, the goal is to win and it’s that simple.”
On the podcast, Gary Lineker and Shearer also agreed about Max Dauman’s talent. The teenager impressed in the FA Cup win at the weekend and Lineker revealed how much he was in awe of his performance. “What a talent. He’s so exciting,” Lineker said.
Max Dauman was outstanding for Arsenal in the FA Cup win at Mansfield (Image: Arsenal FC, Getty Images)
“He was out for three months and then he came into men’s football and looked almost like the best player. Sometimes he does something and you think, ‘Wow.’
He continued, “I was just watching the game and I thought, ‘Oh my God’. It’s something like that and there’s obviously a risk of getting carried away. But even Mikel Arteta is enthusiastic about him and talking about him and he’s probably in good shape. I don’t have a problem with making players big. What we have to be careful about is beating them sometimes.”
Shearer agreed with Lineker’s view on Dauman, saying that maintaining the talent shown at such a young age will inevitably lead to conversations. he said:
“They have shown great ability. I know he is still young, but when they are that good you have to talk about them and that puts pressure on you. You have to accept that.”
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