Arsenal‘s midfield was ‘all over the place’ in a frustrating first half against Paris Saint-Germain, Wayne Rooney claimed.
The Gunners were playing their biggest game in a number of years on Tuesday night, hosting the French champions in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash.
They had a nightmare start to the game, going down 1-0 within the first four minutes when Ousmane Dembele fired into the bottom corner to silence an excited Emirates crowd.
They grew into the game, but found it hard going off the ball as they tried to press a PSG side more than comfortable in possession as the visitors started to enjoy chances at will.
It came after Mikel Arteta was forced to reshuffle his midfield, with Thomas Partey suspended on the back of a yellow card in the second leg against Real Madrid.
And former England and Manchester United star Rooney didn’t mince his words with his half-time analysis of Arsenal’s midfield as they struggled to adapt to life without their usual No 6.
‘I will be honest, when I saw Rice saying about keeping the ball, I would be concerned,’ Rooney said on Amazon Prime Video’s live coverage of the game. ‘The middle three are all over the place.
‘They are trying to press it at every opportunity and PSG will punish them if they keep doing it. They are trying to press and it will suit PSG.’
Rooney was referring to Rice’s words in Arsenal’s pre-match huddle. Gunners captain Martin Odegaard allowed Rice to tell his team-mates: ‘If we don’t have the ball, we die,’ and that was reflected in the hosts’ aggressive play.
More to follow.
