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Zoran Mamic’s Statements About Arsenal Sting So Badly Because of the Truth in Them

By Josh Sippie

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In case you missed it, Arsenal lost to Dinamo Zagreb. Not the best way to kick off a Champion’s League season. Arsene Wenger made some questionable decisions, particularly in starting Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla as the defensive midfielders. Arsenal were bullied in the middle of the pitch while their attacks were absorbed by their Croatian counterparts.

Following the match, Zagreb’s manger had some less than flattering things to say about Arsenal.

"“Arsenal is one of the best teams who ever played here and they did exactly what we agreed they would do. We thought it would be very important to close the middle, to stop the fast passes. That’s what we did and it’s nothing new. We have already seen other teams who beat Arsenal use the same tactics. This is a good way to beat them. Arsenal has top four top international players, and other top players compared to Dinamo, but they are not world class. We just concentrated in not letting them come to the ball. It was probably one our best games tactically.”"

Like I said, less than flattering.

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The words hurt and would invoke some serious ill feelings towards Mamic. However, if you look at what he said, most of it is laced with truth. Everything that he said he backed up with his team’s play and it is really hard to argue that Arsenal played world class football when they were predicted down to a tee by Dinamo Zagreb.

That is why these words hurt so much. Jose Mourinho goes on and on about how Arsenal is garbage. He will say that Wenger is a specialist in failure and so on. But all of that is just a lose jaw and a lot of words. What Mamic said is logical and easy for him to back up.

What did Arsenal do that they did not do any other day? The only surprise that they delivered was sitting Coquelin. That was a present to Zagreb.

Mamic may have been a bit fortunate due to some fortuitous bounces and spectacular saves, but the game reeked of predictability. Arsene Wenger underestimated this team horribly and we paid the price. The game was painful to watch. Dinamo Zagreb did their homework and it proved incredibly useful.

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Various reports indicate that Mamic took a page or two our of West Ham’s book. Mamic did little to hide that in citing ‘other teams’ that have beaten Arsenal, since Arsenal have lost just once. West Ham obviously trounced Arsenal in embarrassing fashion to open the season and all Mamic had to do was look over what they did and replicate it. That is how predictable Arsenal have become.

The only thing that Mamic said that is oozing with overconfidence is that Arsenal is not world class. Is it debatable, sure, but mainly due to consistency. Arsenal can beat any team when they are at their best. The problems come when they are not at their best. Mamic met an Arsenal squad that was not at their best. The majority of that is down to Wenger’s questionable lineup decisions, but still, this was not world-class Arsenal. However, there is a world-class Arsenal out there. They just have to find themselves.

Next: Loss to Zagreb not as bad as it seems

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