Mikel Arteta has shrugged off Gary Neville's 'boring' football accusation as Arsenal reignited their push to qualify for the Champions League.
The Gunners looked to have faltered in their push for a top-four finish in recent weeks with three straight defeats to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton. However, Arteta's side followed up an emphatic midweek victory at Chelsea with a home win over top-four rivals Manchester United.
Eddie Nketiah struck twice as Arsenal edged a six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge, and a late thunderbolt from Granit Xhaka sealed a 3-1 victory over the Red Devils. The back-to-back successes has left Arteta's side in pole position for the final Champions League spot with five matches remaining.
The former Arsenal captain was subject to heavy criticism earlier this season after an early 5-0 hammering at Manchester City marked the club's worst start to a season for 67 years. The Gunners made a poor start to last season, and Gary Neville took aim at their 'boring' style of football in December 2020.
He previously said on the Gary Neville podcast. "The Mikel Arteta team looks more rigid, more solid but it's a bit boring and they've got to get that out. You can't bore. I used to say that here [at Manchester United ]. You can win, you can lose, you can't be bored coming to Old Trafford.
"I think most fans are the same, they can watch the team win, they can watch the team draw and they can watch the team lose but they won't accept being bored. And to me the Arsenal players at this moment in time look a little bored and the football they are producing looks like a real struggle."
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However, the 'boring' tag is one Arteta seems to have dismantled after four days which has revitalised a season in danger of petering out. Arsenal netted seven times against two of their closest rivals to again put themselves in the ascendancy to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2016.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was allowed to depart in January, and Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette could yet follow out of the exit door in the summer at the end of their respective contracts. But Arteta's trust in youth has been rewarded with the emergence of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, as well as the form of Martin Odegaard.
Speaking after the win over Manchester United, Arteta told the club's website: "I think it was a phenomenal game for the spectators and the fans. For us it was a bit of a rollercoaster. We wanted to start the game really quick, really fast. Dominating them, creating issues, very vertical, and we managed to do that.
"We dominated big periods in the first half. We scored two goals. But then that moment when they scored straight after our second goal, left us a little bit cold and insecure to how they reacted.
"So we had a period of five to ten minutes where we weren’t really clear on what to do and we were trembling.
"At the start of the second half, again we had some problems to occupy some spaces that they are really good at, and they have so much quality to exploit. Then when they missed their penalty, and we made the change in shape and scored the goal, I think that’s where we won it."
