Arsenal beat 10-man Chelsea 2-1 at home.
Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit has revealed on Camel Live’s show that he has decided to "stop watching football", after branding Sunday’s 2-1 Arsenal win over Chelsea "an absolute trash game". All three goals in the high-profile Premier League London derby came from set pieces, as Gullit launched a scathing criticism of the direction modern football is heading in.
Reporter: What prompted you to say you will stop watching football, and what did you make of the Arsenal vs Chelsea London derby at the weekend?
Ruud Gullit: I’ve decided to stop watching football. I don’t enjoy our sport anymore. I watched Arsenal against Chelsea, what an absolute trash game that was! I saw players trying to win corners, trying to win throw-ins, I saw ball boys ready to hand towels to the players. Football has become absolutely horrible. I hope this is not the path we are going down.
Reporter: What do you think is missing from the modern game, and which players do you still enjoy watching today?
Ruud Gullit: I’m waiting for players who will take on defenders again, players like Lamine Yamal. I miss that fun! I just don’t enjoy football anymore. Everyone is out there executing a task. Where are the players who will take people on? Where are the players with guts? Why is everyone just passing the ball? Pass! Pass! Pass!
Meanwhile, Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hürzeler also took the opportunity to take a thinly veiled dig at Arsenal, stating that rule changes are needed to crack down on time-wasting tactics used by the Gunners and other clubs. Referencing Arsenal’s time spent on set pieces – the longest in the Premier League – Hürzeler spoke to reporters on the issue.
Reporter: What changes would you like to see to the game’s rules to address time-wasting, and what issues have you identified with the current set piece protocols?
Fabian Hürzeler: It disrupts the flow of the game, and right now there are no clear rules on how much time you can take for a corner, how much time you can take for a throw-in. There are also no clear rules on some blocking, or the way teams block. Sometimes the referee blows for a foul, sometimes he doesn’t.I think that’s why we have this problem at the moment, but for me the main issue is to create clear rules on how much time can be wasted on corners, throw-ins and free kicks. No one notices it, but when Arsenal get a corner while they’re winning, they sometimes take more than a minute to take it. So we just need clear rules, because then we can finally have 50 minutes of natural playing time, instead of sometimes 65 minutes.If you don’t have the same natural playing time across all matches, the game changes drastically. We’ve analysed it, and the differences are enormous. I think every fan who spends a lot of money to come and watch our game deserves to see the same natural playing time. They want to watch a football match, they don’t want to see maybe 50 minutes of playing time, with 40 minutes where the ball isn’t in play. We’re not going to change these rules immediately, so we know how important set pieces are.I always mention that they can change games, so we also have to use it, be very efficient with our goals, be more efficient at creating chances from corners and free kicks, and always work hard to defend them well.
Arsenal currently hold a 5-point lead over Manchester City, though City have a game in hand and will host the Gunners at home in April. Mikel Arteta’s side are looking to end a run of three consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League. However, many have predicted that Arsenal will choke in the Premier League title race, and they have also faced criticism for their style of play and their lack of open-play goals compared to their set-piece tally.
