Tottenham Hotspur forward Mathys Tel has backed Liverpool manager Arne Slot in his brutal assessment of the state of the Premier League, as Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta sticks to his plan and continues to blow everyone away.
While Arsenal are the favourites to win the Premier League title this season for the first time since 2004, Liverpool, who became the champions of England in the 2024/25 campaign, may not even finish in the top four and Tottenham could get relegated.
Arsenal have not been very pretty to watch this season, with Arteta focusing on set pieces and being very professional in open play.
The Gunners have scored 16 goals from corners this season, with many criticising their tactics.
Earlier this month, Liverpool manager Arne Slot complained about the Premier League getting too boring because of set pieces.
BBC Sport quoted Slot as saying on March 2: “You have to accept it.
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“I think it’s mainly here in the Premier League. If I watch other leagues I don’t think there’s so much emphasis on set-pieces.
“If I watch an Eredivisie game, which I still do, I see goals being disallowed and fouls on goalkeepers being given and I think ‘wow, that’s a big difference’.
“Here, you can almost hit a goalkeeper in his face and the referee still says ‘just go on’.
“Do I like it? My football heart doesn’t like it. If you ask me about football, I think about the Barcelona team from 10, 15 years ago.
“Every Sunday evening, you were hoping they would play.
“Now, most of the games I see in the Premier League are not for me a joy to watch but it’s always interesting because it’s so competitive.
“That is what makes this league great because there is so much competitiveness. Everyone can win against everyone.”
Tottenhamforward Tel has now sided with Slot in his assessment of the Premier League and believes that the English top flight is boring.
Tel, who has been a huge disappointment for Tottenham and has started just seven Premier League games for the north London club this season, has lamented the lack of Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe in the Premier League.
Maxi Foot has quoted Tel as saying to podcaster Zack Nani: “I’ll tell you the truth, yes, it’s not exciting.
“It’s boring to watch; it’s really just a clash between two teams with their own ideas.
“There’s less spectacle, there’s no Vinicius pulling off a sombrero flick, no dribble, no Kylian (Mbappe) accelerating past you.
“Here, I’d say it’s more structured, maybe too much so, with clear ideas, all those set pieces, little details that can sometimes make the difference.
“But sometimes you think it might be too much.
“I told the assistant coach in charge of set pieces, ‘Don’t put me on that one’. Because it’s a zoo.
“We’re all bunched together, everyone’s pushing, knocking each other to the ground, holding onto each other… Forget it. The goalkeeper can’t get out, he can’t see.”
Slot and Tel may moan and groan as much as they would like, but Arteta is not going to mind winning the Premier League title the ugly way.
Arsenal have proven to be very efficient using the corners like they have, and the Emirates Stadium faithful will not mind a bit if that continues and makes the Premier League boring, as long as the Gunners win the title this season.