"It's quite funny" - Michael Owen makes feelings clear about criticism over Arsenal playing 'negative' football

Former Liverpool and England hero Michael Owen has offered his opinion on the criticism in the media about Arsenal playing 'negative' football under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners, who spent over £1 billion since the Spaniard was appointed as head coach, have finished second in the Premier League in each of the last three seasons.

With the addition of a new centre-forward in Viktor Gyokeres and the arrival of key targets like Eberechi Eze and Martin Zubimendi, Arsenal have been tipped as favorites to win the league this term. However, the north Londoners' performances in the away win over Manchester United and the 1-0 loss at Anfield against Liverpool have not been easy on the eye. Critics believe Arteta went too defensive in his approach in them games and called him out for the tactics.

This reporter interacted with Owen during the Star Sports Press Room event, and speaking exclusively to the media present there, the Premier League legend stated:

"I would play exactly the way they're playing, the way they've come up and they're getting better and better in recent seasons [under Arteta]. I don't really agree with people thinking that they play negative football. They've got a great defence, great goalkeeper and that's probably the strength of their team.

"Some of the other big challengers like Liverpool and Manchester City have got better centre-forwards, maybe better attacking players. The strength of a coach is realising what your strength is and then getting the best out of your team. Mikel Arteta is absolutely doing that."

Owen highlighted how even Manchester City went all defensive after taking the lead against Arsenal at the Emirates. The Englishman stressed on the fact that the Gunners actually played a better brand of football than Manchester City, who usually have a reputation for that style of play.

Owen added:

"In fact, it's quite funny. Everybody thinks Manchester City are real gung-ho and go out to attack everybody and Arsenal are more defensive. Did you watch the game between City and Arsenal at the Emirates? City went ahead and Guardiola put defenders on, I've never seen him do that before. He just went all out defence and Arsenal got back into the game. If anybody was going to score late on in that game, it was Arsenal."

Arsenal climbed to the top of the Premier League table with their win over West Ham United before the international break. Liverpool, who slipped up against Crystal Palace and Chelsea in recent weeks, sit in second place, just one point behind the new league leaders.

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"He is building something very powerful" - Michael Owen makes confident prediction about Arsenal under Arteta

Despite the criticism surrounding the way Arsenal play, Owen firmly believes that the glory days are just around the corner at the Emirates. The former Ballon d'Or winner also admitted that he finds it hard to believe that people are actually questioning Arteta, especially considering the progress the club has made under his tutelage.

Owen also added that he can see Arteta winning trophies with the club in the years to come. He commented:

"Even though people give Arteta a little bit of criticism, he's doing absolutely the right thing. His team are very, very difficult to play against, to beat. They are winning games, being strong in the Champions League and they're going to have a real good chance in the Premier League, I struggle to see why there should be so much criticism to be honest. He might have come second in the league, but that's not bad. That was better than his predecessors. He is building something very strong, very powerful and I think trophies are going to follow in the coming years."

Owen is the second-youngest footballer to win the Ballon d'Or, only behind Ronaldo Nazario, after he won it with Liverpool aged just 22 years and four days back in 2001.

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