Laura Woods admits Arsenal are ‘boring’ – but reveals why fans need to be positive

Laura Woods has admitted she has to agree with rival fans who claim her beloved Arsenal are ‘boring’.

The Gunners’ style of play under Mikel Arteta has come in for criticism throughout this season.

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However, recent performances have given fans a reason to be confident, says Woods.

Arsenal are currently three points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Title rivals Manchester City have a game in hand, though, and beat the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month.

Their recent clash saw Arsenal produce a much more offensive display compared to previous matches against their fellow title challengers.

Arsenal can be ‘boring’ – Woods

Woods joined talkSPORT Breakfast on Wednesday ahead of her side’s Champions League semi-final first leg.

The Gunners face Atletico Madrid away from home before next week’s return leg at the Emirates Stadium.

It follows the nine-goal thriller between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

The intensity of their contest has increased claims Arsenal are far from exciting to watch.

Giving her stance, Woods explained: “I think it does get boring, doesn’t it?

“That’s where I do agree with everybody who says watching Arsenal sometimes this season can be a bit boring, because I agree.

“Sometimes they go sideways, they go backwards and you just think, ‘oh for God’s sake, just do it, go forward and see what can happen’.

“We did the FA Cup at the weekend and you’ve got goalkeepers that are playing over the top and getting the assist for the goal. I’d love to see a little bit more of that.

“I also worry a little bit, just about their confidence at the moment and obviously (Kai) Havertz picking up an injury and things like that.

“I do worry because I kind of thought against City, ‘wow, they’ve now come to the party,’ and I’d love to see them play a little bit more like that.

“Then the next game was a bit of a disappointment again. So I do worry a little bit about just their confidence at this time of the season.”

Despite the underwhelming performance in Saturday’s win over Newcastle United, Woods believes the City display should give fans confidence.

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Discussing the prospect of Arsenal adopting a less defensive approach, she added: “I thought they did exactly that (going longer) against City. I thought City played better football in that particular game, but I thought Arsenal were excellent.

“They did a little bit where they took a chance early on in the game, (Erling) Haaland nearly closed David Raya down and he got a little bit of a fright and then we saw what happened with (Gianluigi) Donnarumma at the other end.

“After that, they did miss out the defenders, and indeed the midfield, and they knocked it into Havertz, who I thought held the ball up well and brought people in.

“I think that this is a part of the game that surely if they looked at that City game, they’d realise they’ve got to have more of that. They’ve got to stick to more of that.”

When asked for her score prediction, Woods added: “0-0 probably.

“I’d be disappointed with it. They can bring it back to the Emirates and then hopefully do something with it.

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“But for my nerves, no. I don’t want to just take 0-0 or 1-1 even. It depends on the way the game goes. 

“If they’re going for it and they’re really trying and it’s a great game and you kind of think, oh wow, we managed to get away with 1-1 there then maybe I’ll feel a little bit different. 

“I don’t want to leave it to chance necessarily. But that’s just me from a fan’s perspective.”

Listen to live commentary of Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal live on talkSPORT at 8pm on Wednesday.