Manchester United legend slams Mikel Arteta's 'ugly' and 'annoying' Arsenal

Mikel Arteta has come in for criticism after Arsenal lost at Liverpool (Picture: Getty Images)

Manchester United icon Peter Schmeichel is no fan of Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, hitting out at their ‘ugly’ and ‘annoying’ style of play.

The Gunners were beaten for the first time this season as Liverpool fought to a 1-0 win at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

There was little between the sides but a stunning Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick proved the difference, with the Hungarian producing an immense hit on 83 minutes.

The second half was quite lively on Merseyside, but the first was drab, with little to remember from either side.

Schmeichel was frustrated and lay the blame at the feet of Arsenal, admitting that he does not enjoy watching at all.

‘It’s not lived up to the expectations,’ the Dane said on Viaplay: ‘You need two teams to give a good game of football and there is only one team trying to play football and that’s Liverpool!

‘I don’t want to insult Arsenal but their brand of football is so annoying to watch, it’s designed to exploit opponents’ mistakes while waiting for set pieces. Then they take their time and take the tempo out of the game.’

Peter Schmeichel does not enjoy his time watching Arsenal (Picture: Getty Images)

He went still further, adding: ‘I have never in my life ever wanted a team to win a game of football more than Liverpool today. Arsenal bring an ugly brand of football to our game.

‘Arteta, let your team play football! Let them loose, let them be free. I am absolutely convinced that if Arteta does this, they will win more games.’

Another Red Devils legend, Roy Keane, did not go quite as far as his former teammate, but does feel Arsenal are lacking a creative spark going forward, something he felt when they won at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season as well.

‘I feel like Arsenal, a bit like at Old Trafford, if you look at their attacking play, that day and today, just wasn’t good enough. Not sharp enough, they need to do better,’ Keane said on Sky Sports.

Viktor Gyoekeres struggled to make an impact for Arsenal (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I think it’s great when they have the defensive record that they have and their good at set pieces, you’ve got to give them credit for that. But if you’re dependent on that all the time then you come to Liverpool where they’re defending well, it’s hard to.

‘Do something a little bit different. You’re looking at Arsenal going: “Do something off the cuff, do something quickly.”

‘There was a bit of rush in their play when they were chasing the goal, but in general play, you’re thinking, do something quickly. Going forward, they are a bit robotic.

‘With the set pieces, you give them a thumbs up, but they have to find something else.’

Dominik Szoboszlai. WOW. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/AmSa5lVgcx — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 31, 2025

Arteta – on a day he lost William Saliba to injury – told BBC’s Match of the Day of the game: ‘I was very disappointed with the result. I think we elevated the game to a point where we dominated them in parts of the game. That is very difficult to do here at Anfield. They produced an incredible magic moment to win the game.