A Tottenham Hotspur player has labelled Premier League football “boring to watch” due largely to the focus on set-pieces.
It’s not the best time to be a Spurs player in the top tier, regardless of the brand of football on display, with the north London outfit currently sitting just one place above the relegation zone with nine games left to play.
Even worse, arch-rivals Arsenal sit at the top of the pile, looking on course to win the league with a seven-point cushion in first.
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Tottenham striker brands the Premier League “boring”
The Gunners find themselves there thanks largely to set-pieces, with 19 goals coming via this method, the most of any team in the league by some distance, despite all teams focusing more attention here.
One Spurs man believes the new trend has made England’s top division boring.
In an interview with stream Zack Nani, as quoted by Maxifoot, Spurs striker Mathys Tel said: “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.
“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.”
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, with their biggest rivals winning using a very identifiable tactic, it’s little wonder that same method is not loved by Spurs.
However, there is definitely a limit on the enjoyment, for the neutral, in watching corner routine after corner routine – but that will matter little to Gunners fans if they win the league.
Added to all that, Tel has also reportedly been keen to get away from Spurs in recent months, which could be why he’s denigrating the league and talking up La Liga.