SAM Allardyce has slammed Unai Emery’s tactics as Arsenal endured an opening day 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City. The Gunners were keen to play out from the back at every opportunity and it almost spectacularly backfired when Petr Cech comically narrowly avoided passing the ball into his own net. 125-CAP SPANISH GREAT CALLS TIME ON STELLAR INTERNATIONAL CAREER ‘NO CHANCE I’D STAY’: SUPERSTAR REVEALS EXTENT OF CONTE COLLAPSE WATCH: INCREDIBLE ROONEY PLAY SECURES WIN Former Everton manager Sam Allardyce gestures on the touchline. Source: AFP Arsenal’s defenders and midfielders crumbled on a number of occasions under City’s high pressing style of play. But Emery’s side continued to maintain their tactics much to the frustrations of Allardyce. The ex-Everton boss, renowned for his direct approach, slammed the gaffer and claimed he got it all wrong. Speaking to talkSPORT, he fumed: “It’s the manager’s fault, FAULTLESS DEBUT, $87.5M STAR’S BRAIN SNAP: HOW NEW PL SIGNINGS FARED “Don’t ask someone to do against Manchester City what you shouldn’t do. “What do Manchester City do? Press, press, press, so why do you try and play out [from the back]? “Even the Arsenal crowd cheered when they dropped one in the opposition’s half! “You cannot just force ‘the only way to play is this way’ in this country. ‘SOMETIMES YOU WANT TO KILL HIM’: PEP WARNS STAR TO GET OFF SOCIAL MEDIA Unai Emery gives his team instructions in his first game in charge of Arsenal. Source: Getty Images “We’re getting obsessed with this stupid ‘let’s play out from the back, split the centre-halfs either side of the 18-yard box and go and play from there’. “It’s utter rubbish to play like that all the time.” It was put to ‘Big Sam’ that City themselves took risks, with Guardiola’s preferred method of play also to build from the back, to which he replied: “When you’re the best you can do it.” This story originally appeared in The Sun. WHERE EVERY SOCCEROO ABROAD IS PLAYING IN 2018-19<doc-sep>Unai Emery is attempting to implement a "stupid" style of play at Arsenal, according to Sam Allardyce. The Gunners slipped to a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in their opening league game on Sunday and throughout the match Emery's side surrendered possession while looking to play out from the back. Petr Cech came close to scoring an own goal when attempting to play a ball across his own penalty area to Shkodran Mustafi, and Allardyce believes the blame lies with Emery. 2:45 Arsenal 0-2 Man City "It is the manager's fault," the former England boss told talkSPORT, when asked about Cech's performance. "Don't ask somebody to do against Man City what you shouldn't do. You shouldn't play out like that against Manchester City. "What do Manchester City do? They press, press, press so why do you try and play out when they press, press, press? Image: Unai Emery instructed his players to play out from the back against City "Even the Arsenal crowd cheered when he [Cech] dropped one in the opposition's half. "We are getting obsessed with this stupid 'let's play out from the back, split the centre halves either side of the 18-yard box and go and play from there'… it's utter rubbish to play like that all of the time. "When you're the best at it [like City] then you can do it."<doc-sep>Sam Allardyce has slammed new Arsenal manager Unai Emery for trying to get his side to play out from the back against Manchester City. Emery underwent a humbling competitive debut as Arsenal boss as his side slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Pep Guardiola's champions at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon. It was notable that Arsenal insisted on playing the ball out from the back during the game, something that played into City's style, which involves heavy pressing in the opposition half. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Sam Allardyce has slammed Arsenal manager Unai Emery for his side's style of play The newly appointed Arsenal boss insisted on his team playing out from the back on Sunday There were also some difficult moments for Arsenal, with goalkeeper Petr Cech nearly passing the ball into the back of his own net during the first-half. The 36-year-old clearly struggled to adapt. Former England manager Allardyce blamed one man for Arsenal's problems — Emery. Speaking on Talksport on Monday morning, Allardyce said: 'This is the manager's fault. It's his fault. 'Don't ask somebody to do against Manchester City what you shouldn't do, and you should not play out like that against Manchester City. That led to some difficult moments, especially for veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech (centre) Cech was pressed by the City players during one tough passage of play in the first-half The 36-year-old came close to passing the ball into the back of his own net at the Emirates 'What do Manchester City do? Press press press. So why do you try and play out when they press press press? 'Even the Arsenal crowd cheered when they dropped one in the opposition half. You cannot just force "the only way to play is this way" in this country. 'We are getting obsessed with this stupid "let's play out from the back, split the centre halfs, either side of the 18-yard box and go and play from there"... (it's) utter rubbish to play like that all of the time.' Asked about City taking risks in a similar manner, Allardyce insisted: 'When you're the best at it, you can do it.'<doc-sep>
The former England boss is clearly not a fan of the slow build-up play favoured by so many teams in the modern game Sam Allardyce has laid into new Arsenal boss Unai Emery for having his side play out from the back against Manchester City. Emery underwent a baptism of fire in the opening day weekend of the Premier League, facing off with the champions at the Emirates on Sunday. The Gunners fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola's charges, although it could have been a larger scoreline in favour of the visitors, who dominated proceedings throughout. Well known for their high pressing game, City took Arsenal to task, and Allardyce has laid the blame squarely at Emery's doorstep. “It's the manager's fault,” the former England boss told Talksport . “Don't ask someone to do against Manchester City what you shouldn't do. “What do Manchester City do? Press, press, press, so why do you try and play out [from the back]? “Even the Arsenal crowd cheered when they dropped one in the opposition's half! “You cannot just force 'the only way to play is this way' in this country. “We're getting obsessed with this stupid 'let's play out from the back, split the centre-halfs either side of the 18-yard box and go and play from there'. Article continues below “It's utter rubbish to play like that all the time.” It was put to 'Big Sam' that City themselves took risks, with Guardiola's preferred method of play also to build from the back, to which he replied: “When you're the best you can do it.”