Jamie Carragher has spoken of his shock at how naive Arsenal proved to be tactically in their loss to Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday.
The Gunners were undone by goals from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son on the counter-attack, a method which Spurs have been prominently using in big games this season.
Appearing on Sky Sports, the former Liverpool man pinpointed the long history behind Mourinho’s use of defensive football in big games as a reason for his shock.
Carragher said: “I thought tactically, Arsenal were a shambles, so poor. And what I can’t believe and what was frustrating me so much watching it was, this has happened so often in Mourinho’s managerial career, even if you’d only watched Tottenham this season, you’d know what they were going to do.”
“It was almost like this Arsenal team and Mikel Arteta had been transported into this game from the moon and they didn’t know who Mourinho was, they’d never seen Tottenham play and honestly, I was flabbergasted.” (via Sky Sports)
Should Arsenal sack Arteta?
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Carragher seems to have hit the nail on the head. The naivety attached to Sunday’s performance, especially from a tactical point-of-view, was shocking to watch. How you can allow yourself to play the way almost 90% of experts, including Paul Merson, would’ve expected the outfit to lose by playing is truly stunning stuff.
The weirdest aspect of Sunday’s game is how Arteta switched his tactics around from what he usually does in big games. Think back to last season and how the Reds overcame the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. Sat back on the edge of their own box and waiting for the right moment to counter-attack.
So why change a winning formula? How could you possibly think turning up at the ground of the Premier League’s best defence and attempting to carve open their two banks of four was ever going to work?
It’s still baffling as to how and why Arteta was so naive tactically going into a game the Gunners could ill-afford to lose. Now the club sits a staggering eight points off fourth place after just 11 league games. Top-four and a Champions League place is looking increasingly unlikely as they Emirates Stadium giants look to win back some pride after a poor start to the season.
In other news, one Arsenal star is ‘90%’ likely to leave the club in January.
