Former Chelsea star John Mikel Obi is one of the latest to criticise Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, branding the Spanish manager’s approach to scoring goals ‘illegal.”
Former Chelsea star John Mikel Obi is one of the latest to criticise Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, branding the Spanish manager’s approach to scoring goals as “illegal.”
Arsenal have mostly relied on set-pieces as a source of goals this season, with their prowess from dead-ball situations continuing from last campaign.
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Arteta’s side scored a whopping 22 goals from set-pieces last season, excluding penalty kicks, the highest in the division, which contributed to their impressive goal tally in the Premier League, where they racked up 91 goals—second only to eventual champions Manchester City.
While the Gunners have continued their dominance in that aspect this season, scoring three goals in the league from set-pieces, they have struggled to find the back of the net in recent games. Arteta’s men are without a goal in back-to-back away league matches.
Mikel Obi criticises Arteta’s tactics
In this regard, Mikel Obi questioned the Spanish manager’s reliance on dead-ball situations to generate goals, urging him to find other ways to score.
“That’s illegal… Mikel Arteta should find a different way of scoring goals,” the former Nigerian captain said, speaking on hi ObiOne podcast, as reposted by @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 on X.
Meanwhile, Arsenal prepare to make the trip across town for this weekend’s matchday 11 encounter against London rivals Chelsea.
They will now look to find a solution to their struggles in attack as they aim for their first away win since September.
