da apostebet： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
da fazobetai： Paul Merson has launched into a passionate rant insisting that nobody was surprised by Arsenal’s defeat to Sheffield United, per Sky Sports.
What’s he said?
The Gunners fell to a disappointing loss at Bramall Lane, as Lys Mousset’s goal capped a fine result for Chris Wilder’s men.
Merson, though, was unsurprised and has passionately called for the club to change their ways, making a particular point that he cannot imagine any player “going ballistic” in a bid to change their fortunes.
He said: “It’s accepted. Nobody is going to work the next morning and saying: ‘Oh my God, did you see Arsenal getting beat by Sheffield United?’ Those days are gone. It’s accepted through the club, the fans, the manager, everyone.
“Sheffield United played as much football as Arsenal. They didn’t kick them off the pitch.
“What has improved? Really, what has improved? Not a lot, at all.”
He added: “Even at the end, with four minutes to go, I’m thinking: ‘Do they know how long is left?’ I’m sure there’s an electric clock at Sheffield United, there was when I played there! ‘Is there going to be a bit of urgency?’
“It was rolled along the back, back to the goalkeeper, and then back again. I thought there were 20 minutes to go!
“Overall, it was poor. This was a very difficult game, but there are ways to lose football matches, and this wasn’t it. I didn’t see the urgency, and I can’t imagine anyone in that dressing room going ballistic. It’s just accepted: ‘Who have we got next week?’ It drives me up the wall. It’s so frustrating.”
Spot on
Merson has nailed it.
He might be something of a figure of fun because of his performances on Soccer Saturday, where he all too regularly mispronounces names and comes out with the odd left-field opinion.
But here, when talking about his club, it becomes patently obvious that he cares deeply about Arsenal.
And he was forced to sit and watch as 90 minutes slipped by at Bramall Lane, along with three points.
Unai Emery is in his second season at the club and, yet, the same old failings are rearing their ugly heads: the lack of desire, the lack of energy, the lack of passion.
Of course, simply adding a few players who would shout and scream in the dressing room isn’t going to improve things overnight.
But one has to believe that there is a need to have more leaders in that squad than it currently has.
As Merson says, very few people will have been surprised by Monday’s result.
That is perhaps the Gunners’ major failing.