Robert Huth labelled Mikel Arteta ‘bitter’ and believes his controversial claims could have a detrimental effect on Arsenal.
Arteta stirred plenty of controversy when he stated he didn’t think ‘there’s been a better team’ than the Gunners in the Champions League and that his side ‘deserved much more’.
That’s despite Arsenal being beaten in both legs by Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semi-final as the French side won the tie 3-1 on aggregate.
Unsurprisingly, PSG manager Luis Enrique disagreed with Arteta, while talkSPORT host Jason Cundy branded the Arsenal boss ‘absolutely deluded’.
Three-time Premier League winner Huth has now added his voice to the chorus and felt such outlandish statements from Arteta is exactly the reason why some dislike the club.
“Yeah, bit of a ridiculous comment, isn’t it?,” Huth said on talkSPORT Drive.
“Clearly at least two better than them. I think those kind of comments, you can see why people don’t like Arsenal.”
Huth added: “If you listen to that from the outside, you find it so frustrating.
“When you lose, you shake hands, move on and wish them all the best and then get on with it.
“But these comments don’t help.”
talkSPORT Drive co-host Andy Goldstein quizzed Huth on why Arteta would come out and make such a statement, but the German could not wrap his head around the reason why.
“Heat of the moment, bitter maybe, that he’s lost to a better team twice,” Huth said.
talkSPORTHuth doesn’t think Arteta does his best to endear himself or Arsenal to football fans[/caption]
“But I find it difficult to understand how he got to that conclusion. Because they were well beaten over two games.
“Arsenal had chances and Donnarumma did some good saves, but that’s what he’s there for, isn’t it?
“Declan Rice had an unbelievable game in Madrid, but no-one said, ‘You had Declan in your team, that’s why you won.’”
However, Drive co-host and Arsenal tragic Darren Bent felt Arteta had borrowed a tactic from some of football’s greatest managers and made the comments to put the attention on him rather than the players.
“I think he says stuff to take the pressure off the team sometimes,” Bent said.
“The first thing we’re talking about is him, not the team. We’ve seen some of the better managers use it as kind of a deflection tactic.”
Although it may have deflected attention from the players in the immediate aftermath, Huth feared for the impact the comments may have on Arsenal for the remainder of the season.
It’s the last thing the second-placed Gunners need given they have won once in their last five league fixtures.
The poor form has allowed their rivals to close the distance as the gap between Arsenal and fifth-placed Chelsea just four points with three games remaining.
“It doesn’t take the pressure off them,” Huth said.
“I think it does quite the opposite. I think that kind of conversation you have in the changing rooms with your team afterwards when you think you were better than the other side.
“But to air it to everyone to listen to it globally is wrong.
“When he says stuff like that, the reason we’re talking about it is because he said it.
“The next game in the league, there’s even more pressure on the team.
“With second on the line, teams chasing them down, it’s just going to be even more pressure on Arsenal.”
