LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! Why Arsenal will be fired up after ‘dark arts’ criticism… but should referees be braver and punish blocking at corners?

The boys are back and on the latest episode of It’s All Kicking Off! Ian Ladyman and Chris Sutton get stuck into one of the hottest topics of the week: how right were Arsenal to employ the ‘dark arts’ against Manchester City?

Arsenal were accused of extensive time-wasting from dead ball situations and blocking Ederson from corner kicks, while controversy has sprung up over David Raya going down. 

It has drawn a range of opinions from pundits – Ian Wright approved while Roy Keane slammed Arsenal for playing like a ‘small club with a small mentality’.

Ladyman is concerned that Arsenal ‘obstruct’ goalkeepers and that it should be a foul. Sutton laughs in his counterpart’s face and tells him why a five-year-old might be more intelligent than him. 

Listen to It’s All Kicking Off! here: 

In the end Arsenal managed to survive almost an entire half with 10 men without conceding. Only John Stones’ 98th-minute equaliser denied them.

Former Premier League winner Sutton believes the criticism of their strategy will only fire up Arsenal’s star. Listen why on It’s All Kicking Off!