Wayne Rooney gushes over Arsenal style and brilliance before Champions League Round of 16

It seems like each and every day we find some ex-player or current coach licking their lips for a chance to talk about the style in which leaders of the Premier League are winning their matches. Usually the chatter around Arsenal and their “dark arts” mastery is scoffed at if not openly ridiculed but Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney admits he is enjoying how Mikel Arteta´s side are playing.

“Good mix” has Gunners in prime position

After advancing to the quarterfinal in the FA Cup with a win over Mansfield over the weekend, the Gunners were in the crosshairs of critics yet again. They squeaked out a win over a third tier side, and it took a second half strike from Eberechi Eze to push Arsenal past the fifth round and continue their quest for a poker of trophies.

Most of the post match sounded off on Arsenal once again after a shaky performance against a team that on paper shouldn’t give them too many headaches. Not everyone who has watched Arteta´s side is against his tactics and one surprising legend has heaped praised upon his formal rival club. On his BBC podcast, Wayne Rooney said that he loves the way Arsenal are winning, and finds nothing wrong with their style.

“I’ve heard a lot of people talking about Arsenal and the way they’re playing but I think they’ve been brilliant,” Rooney said. “Football is played in different ways. Man City have had spells when they were absolutely incredible, the same for my Man United team. But Arsenal have got a good mix, they’ve got different players who score goals, they’re hard to play against, they keep clean sheets. I actually enjoy watching them play.”

Rooney “loving” set piece play

Between set piece goals, and time wasting tactics that more than a few opposing managers have accused the Gunners of, they are becoming somewhat of a villainous team in England. As easy target for those who get frustrated watching a top team incorporate some of the dark arts of the game. Rooney sees no problem with the fact they have become set piece craftsmen over the course of the campaign.

“The set-pieces are part of football – why would you not use it? They put bodies in the box, if teams aren’t clever enough or haven’t got the players to deal with it, why wouldn’t Arsenal continue to do that? I would be doing it even more if I was Mikel Arteta. It’s part of the game and I love it – they don’t have to change anything,” said Rooney.

Much of the criticism and discontent could come from the fact that Arsenal are closer than they have been in a long, long time to a Premier League title and that could bother more than a few people around England after a long spell of the Gunners being the lovable losers. They are seven points clear of Manchester City, in contention for the four remaining titles and will take on Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the Round of 16 in Champions League this week.

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