JAKARTA - The debate about whether dead balls are ruining modern football has been raging this week. Liverpool manager Arne Slot revealed on Monday, March 2, 2026, that he no longer enjoys watching some English League matches.
The statement was certainly aimed at Arsenal. The Gunners are the king of corner kicks this season with 16 goals coming from there, including two goals in the victory over Chelsea on Sunday, March 1, 2026.
Despite the debate about the dead ball being intense, Mikel Arteta seemed to not care. In fact, he was upset that Arsenal didn't score more goals from corner kicks.
Despite criticism of Arsenal's tactics from some quarters - with commentator Chris Sutton claiming Arsenal would be the worst Premier League champions if they managed to win it - Arteta did not apologize.
"I'm upset because we didn't score more goals and we also conceded. We want to be the best team and the most dominant in every aspect of the game."
"That is the direction and goal of this team. As a club, we want to be like that. So, we try to do that," said Arteta.
Asked if he was surprised by the criticism aimed at his team, the Spanish coach shrugged. Arteta even further admitted that football has evolved in recent years and teams must adapt.
"(Criticism of Arsenal) is part of the job. You, as an opponent or whatever, you will be upset when you concede a goal. I was very upset with the way we conceded the goal against Chelsea."
"Chelsea, look at the quality they have, the number of goals from dead balls they score. Manchester United as well. I was at Manchester City, I used to coach them a lot."
"There are phases and moments when a team has the opportunity to do certain things. This game evolves and becomes more difficult."
"In the past, when you made a game plan, you would just turn the full-back and put an extra player in midfield."
"Now, teams are adapting. Teams know after every set of play, whether it's a serve in, restart of the game, open play situation, after the immediate game, exactly what they have to do."
"It's almost man-to-man. So, it will be a different game unless we change the rules because the evolution of the game is like that," said Arteta.
Arteta believes that if people want to watch beautiful football, they should look elsewhere.
"I don't know how you celebrate one goal differently from another. Maybe for YouTube, one goal is better than another. I don't know."
"I want to play with three extra players in my own half of the field to get a beautiful football game and always play against free players. This is not the reality of football."
"If you want to watch football like that, you have to go to another country because in the Premier League, over the last two or three seasons, that hasn't happened," Arteta said.
Meanwhile, midfielder Declan Rice is expected to be fit for the away game against Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday, March 5, 2026, early morning WIB, although he limped against Chelsea.
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