Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had a little dig at physical nature of Sean Dyche’s side in response to the Burnley manager’s criticism of Alexandre Lacazette’s “screaming”.
Lacazette was fouled by Erik Pieters during the Gunners’ 1-1 draw against the Clarets at Turf Moor on Saturday with his audible screams suggesting a serious injury.
However, the Frenchman eventually got to his feet and carried on with Dyche critical of the “screaming” despite not naming Lacazette.
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“The screaming, some real good screaming today,” Dyche said after the match against Arsenal. “Some real good screaming today, on the scream-o-meter probably the highest I’ve heard for a long time and there’s some pretty high ones.”
Arteta insists he is above commenting on players from other clubs but aimed a dig at sides that “use their strength to weaken an opponent”.
When asked whether he will encourage his players to hold back on screaming, Arteta told a press conference on Wednesday: “I don’t comment on what the other players do.
“I comment on what our players do. I focus on us. The same as I don’t comment on how other managers or the players, how they use their strength to weaken an opponent, I don’t talk about it.”
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The Gunners travel to Greece for their Europa League last-16 tie against Olympiacos on Thursday and Arteta wants the players to ignore any criticism they are facing.
Arteta added: “I think the players have to focus on performing as good as possible and try to do their best on the pitch.
“That criticism with where it’s coming from with which intentions is something that they must not pay attention to because they cannot control. The better we do individually and the better we do collectively, things are going to work better and that’s the responsibility they have all the time when they jump on the pitch.”
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