Martin Keown hits back at ‘deranged’ Man Utd legend after scathing Arsenal attack

Peter Schmeichel’s comments did not sit well with Martin Keown (Picture: Getty Images)

Martin Keown labelled Peter Schmeichel’s scathing criticism of Arsenal ‘deranged’ after the Manchester United legend blasted Mikel Arteta’s team’s style of play.

Schmeichel stuck the boot into his old rivals after Arsenal lost 1-0 at Liverpool in their last Premier League outing.

It was a dull game at Anfield, lit up by Dominik Szoboszlai’s uncredible free-kick which won the match for the home team.

The legendary goalkeeper was glad to see the Reds win it, explaining why he does not like watching Arsenal at all under Arteta.

‘I don’t want to insult Arsenal but their brand of football is so annoying to watch, it’s designed to exploit opponents’ mistakes while waiting for set pieces. Then they take their time and take the tempo out of the game, ‘ Schmeichel said on ViaPlay.

He went still further, adding: ‘I have never in my life ever wanted a team to win a game of football more than Liverpool today. Arsenal bring an ugly brand of football to our game.

‘Arteta, let your team play football! Let them loose, let them be free. I am absolutely convinced that if Arteta does this, they will win more games.’

Peter Schmeichel is no fan of Mikel Arteta’s approach (Picture: Reuters)

The Gunners have come in for criticism for producing dull contests against other top teams and Keown admits he would like to see Arteta be more aggressive at times, but he thinks Schmeichel’s comments were way too far.

‘We want more. Arsenal I feel now are at the stage where it’s a mentality change, they need to change gear, they’ve really got to go after it,’ Keown said on TalkSPORT. ‘You’ve got to have the eye of the tiger to really go and win these games.

‘Looking back, I hope we don’t regret it, but it’s too early in the season to write Arsenal off.

Mikel Arteta is looking to improve on Arsenal’s last three finishes of second in the top flight (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I don’t know if it’s been calm in the media. I’ve listened to some people, sometimes these ex-players like Peter Schmeichel has said that Arsenal bring something “ugly” to the Premier League. I think that’s deranged, what he’s talking about.

‘Was it early that they changed the back-pass rule in 1992 because it was him that was one of the advocates of that? Everyone kept passing it back to him, that was ugly as well.

‘Arsenal are a long way down the line to being successful. I think Arsenal look good right now. It’s not lucky Arsenal anymore, by the way, with all these injuries. That will clear up and they’ve now got a squad to go the distance, but Liverpool are still ahead.’

Another former Arsenal star, Theo Walcott, suggested Schmeichel was just bitter that the Gunners’ pragmatic approach saw them win at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the season.

‘Well, it worked at Man United so maybe Schmeichel is a bit sour from that result,’ Walcott said on the It’s Called Soccer! podcast.

‘Because there are times when it works. But the plan in those games is to stay in the game and this is the dynamic, and where I feel Mikel Arteta is at this moment in time.’

The defeat at Anfield was Arsenal’s first of the season but it was more than just the game they lost as William Saliba went off injured within the first five minutes and is set for a spell on the sidelines.

French outlet L’Equipe claim Saliba will be out for another three to four weeks with the injury setback.

Saliba missed France’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Friday night and will also miss Tuesday’s Group D clash against Iceland.

If reports in France are correct, Saliba will miss at least three more Arsenal games, with the Gunners facing Nottingham Forest immediately after the international break.

Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie late in the transfer window from Bayer Leverkusen, with Saliba’s injury potentially bringing a debut forward for the Ecuador international.

Cristhian Mosquera replaced Saliba at Anfield and did well in a big test for the young defender, so he too will be hoping to fill in for the Frenchman.

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