Mikel Arteta Hits Back At Paul Scholes's Criticism; Labels Arsenal 'Most Exciting Team In Europe' Ahead Of Chelsea Clash

Mikel Arteta defended his side, Arsenal, after football pundit Paul Scholes called the Gunners the 'most boring team to win the Premier League.' In a press conference ahead of the second leg of the Carabao Cup against Chelsea, Mikel Arteta was asked about Scholes' comments. The manager laughed off the comments and backed his side.

The war of words began when Paul Scholes criticised Arsenal's style of play, highlighting a perceived lack of fluidity from their forwards and their reliance on set-pieces. Notably, Viktor Gyokeres is Arsenal's top scorer in the Premier League with six goals, while the Gunners have scored 17 goals from set-pieces, which is three more than any other team in the league.

Following Scholes' comments, Mikel Arteta laughed off the criticisms and insisted that outside of the UK, his team is widely regarded as 'the most exciting in Europe.'

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Mikel Arteta On His Side Arsenal

Arteta, whose side is set to face Chelsea in the second leg of the Carabao Cup after defeating the Blues 3-2 in the first leg, dismissed Scholes' comments after Arsenal became the first team to remain undefeated in all of their eight games in the Champions League.

In the pre-match press conference, Mikel Arteta shared, "I hear completely the opposite: all around Europe that we are the most exciting team in Europe, the most goals, the most clean sheets. Maybe I have different sources."

When asked why there was such a vast disparity between domestic football pundits and European pundits, Arteta replied, "I don't know which people. You send me the names, the addresses, and the email, and maybe we can talk, but I can't give you a massive book of all the people."

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Stats Back Arteta's Arsenal Claim

Despite Scholes' boring tag, the Gunners have been relentless this season, becoming the first ever team in history to win all eight of their league phase matches in the Champions League. Meanwhile, in the Premier League, they are six points ahead of Manchester City after having defeated Leeds 0-4 in their last Premier League outing.