Campbell slams Arsenal stars who ‘haven’t got the legs’ as ‘big problem’ identified
Kevin Campbell has claimed Arsenal “looked leggy” on Monday night and had “big problems” against Crystal Palace.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Gunners and Everton striker fears the international break took its toll on Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arsenal slipped to 12th in the Premier League table after a 2-2 draw with the Eagles at the Emirates.
Both of Palace’s goals came from turnovers in the middle of the park.
As quoted by Football.London (18th October), Arteta rued his midfielders’ “lack of composure” and carelessness on the ball.
When asked by Football Insider for his thoughts on Albert Lokonga’s error which led to the second goal, Campbell said:
“The second goal could have been a little bit of inexperience from Lonkonga. He came on at half time and I think he was struggling to get into the pace of the game.
“Palace were quicker to the ball after the first 20 minutes. We looked leggy, like we didn’t have the legs.
“That can happen over the international break. It can be difficult to get back into game mode after the break. Fair play to Palace.
“You have to give credit where it is due. They broke at pace and got a slice of luck with the deflection to get it past [Aaron] Ramsdale. They caused Arsenal big problems.”
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta said: “It was more of a collective issue with the lack of the composure we had to on the ball.
“We suffered and obviously the areas where we lost the ball today to give two goals away.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has claimed Man City will be ‘cheering’ as a major windfall is on the cards after an Arsenal ruling.