Former Arsenal captain, Patrick Viera, has called on his former boss, Arsene Wenger to adopt the tactics of rival, José Mourinho, manager of Man Utd, following a poor run of results.
Viera’s call comes as reactions continue to trail the manner with the Gunners were routed at the weekend at Anfield, where Liverpool put four goals past them at the weekend.
It was Arsenal second consecutive loss of the season, following the 1-0 loss to Stoke City the weekend before, leading to their former captain challenging Wenger to try a different approach and tactics at the Emirates.
“Would I like my team to be more like a José or an Arsene team? I would like to be the balance of both,” Viera said, according to Daily Mail.
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“Would like my teams to have the discipline that Jose has but also allow players to express themselves into that discipline like Arsene.
“Arsene always gives freedom to his players. To have that freedom is good but if you can get them to respect the tactical aspect of the game it will be even better.
“When you talk about Jose, who I had at Inter Milan, he was always focused on the details, giving players information that allows them to go on the field and respect the tactical game.
“Then you have Arsene who is always positive and always giving confidence to the players no matter what.
Fabio Capello could be really tough on players. Roberto Mancini would work on tactical work for an hour and a half because the tactical game was important for him. So I take a little bit from everybody and try to use it with how I see the game and how I am as person as well.
The former France international added that while his former side are good to watch, winning requires more than playing beautiful football.
“If you look at Arsenal today I really enjoy watching them play, they play some really good football,” he added.
“But that is not enough to win football matches or to win competitions. In our time we were winning and we had the strength to not play well but somehow manage to win the game 1-0.
“I’m not one to say, ‘Our generation was better than this generation’. It doesn’t make sense to compare the two generations because we are in a different period.
“The team in our generation were more physical but this generation are better football players, there’s no doubt about that. So the balance is what Arsenal need to find. We had the physicality to deal with different situations.
Viera, who won three PL titles with Arsenal, also disagreed with beliefs that the current Arsenal side lack leaders.
“You’re not going to tell me Mesut Ozil is not a leader? You’re not going to tell me Alexis Sanchez is not a leader? You’re not going to tell me Petr Cech is not a leader.
“I believe there are different types of leaders on the field. You have the technical leader, you have the vocal one, you have the one who doesn’t talk but shows it in his desire and how he competes.
“I’m more like that: the one who isn’t as vocal as Tony Adams but will show it how he competes on the field. And you have the type of leader who will want to take a penalty in the 95th minute, this is part of being a leader as well.
“There are leaders in the team to challenge and they have the experience to win matches.”
Patrick Viera is the current manager of Major League Soccer, MLS, side, New York City.
