Paul Merson slams Mikel Arteta's tactical error against Liverpool

Paul Merson has warned Mikel Arteta to change his approach in big games for Arsenal and cited the 3-1 league defeat to Liverpool as an example.

Arsenal gained notoriety at the peak of the Arsene Wenger era for playing a stylish ball-playing brand of football and becoming a major force in English football, resulting in three Premier League titles.

Arteta, who once captained the club under Wenger, appears to share a similar mindset to the legendary Gunners manager along with his trusted mentor at Manchester City and tiki-taka expert Pep Guardiola.

Playing out from the back, however, can be a risky affair against certain opponents. Merson, for one, believes using this style against the high-pressing Liverpool in last week’s 3-1 Premier League defeat at Anfield was the equivalent of ‘walking into the lion’s cage with a lorry load of steaks’.

🗣"It's like going to Woburn Zoo next week and walking into the lions with a lorry load of steaks, you will get eaten alive!" 🤣

Paul Merson with a great analogy of Arsenal trying to pass out from the back against Liverpool on Monday in the Premier League 🦁 pic.twitter.com/pu2Kfh1myT

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 3, 2020

The former Arsenal midfielder told Sky Sports: “There is some improvement and on the other hand they are playing against the best team in the country and if not the best team in Europe after Bayern Munich.

“When they go after, you just… it’s like going to Woburn zoo next week and walking into the lion’s cage with a lorry load of steaks. You’re going to get eaten alive aren’t you?

“If you stay in your car you are going to be alright and that’s what it was. They are playing that way away to Liverpool, they are the best in the business.

“If they are going to keep playing that way, there is only one result.”

Arsenal will play Sheffield United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, with kick-off set for 15:00 (CET).