Arsenal balls: soft and weak Gunners embarrass tabloids
“Arsenal are soft and weak.” Not our thoughts, rather those of the Daily Mirror, although it attributes the words to Barcelona’s cocksure defender Dani Alves. But is that what he said ahead of Barcelona’s home match with Arsenal? What he said was:
“When the draw was made, we knew it could have been tougher for us. That is no reflection on the quality of Arsenal. The quality of the way they play the game and the quality of some of their players is there for all to see.
“It is a reflection on their experience, character, and mental strengths. There are teams in Europe that don’t have the quality that Arsenal have, but you would rather avoid them and play Arsenal – because you know that those teams have experience and character.”
Did he calls Arsenal soft and weak? No. Did he say, as the Mirror says he did, “Arsenal lack character and mental strength”? No. He did not.
Alves merely pointed out that drawing a side who had lost at home to Olympiakos failed to fill the holders with dread.
The Mirror also fails to note what else Alves said:
Arsenal do have quality, and when they are at their best they can achieve special things, so from us there will be no complacency.
Oh, and he also said this as he held court in Spain:
“…when I said the press was ‘rubbish’, for example, I did so because they’re damaging football … And I then came out and explained it [better], because I know there are good people in the profession and it’s not fair to generalise.”
Indeed.
Posted: 16th, March 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
