Arsenal legend brands Peter Schmeichel 'deranged' over his criticism

Martin Keown has hit back at Peter Schmeichel after he ripped into Arsenal's style of play.

Former Man United and City keeper Schmeichel was scathing in his assessment of the Gunners when they were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool before the international break.

Dominik Szoboszlai's incredible free kick was the difference in what was an otherwise uneventful game at Anfield as both sides largely cancelled each other out.

Following the clash, Schmeichel claimed Arsenal's tactics meant he was desperate for Liverpool to win, before he branded the way Mikel Arteta's side play as 'annoying' and 'ugly'.

And Keown, who won three Premier league titles with the Gunners, admitted his former side do need to be more aggressive at times, but felt Schmeichel had gone too far.

‘We want more,' he told talkSPORT. 'Arsenal I feel now are at the stage where it’s a mentality change, they need to change gear, they’ve really got to go after it. You’ve got to have the eye of the tiger to really go and win these games.

‘Looking back, I hope we don’t regret it, but it’s too early in the season to write Arsenal off.

‘I don’t know if it’s been calm in the media. I’ve listened to some people, sometimes these ex-players like Peter Schmeichel has said that Arsenal bring something “ugly” to the Premier League. I think that’s deranged, what's he talking about.'

Keown went on to aim a cheeky dig at his former rival and claimed that despite the defeat by Liverpool, Arsenal are still in the title race this season.

He added: ‘Was it they changed the back-pass rule in 1992 because it was him that was one of the advocates of that? Everyone kept passing it back to him, that was ugly as well.

'Arsenal are a long way down the line to being successful. I think Arsenal look good right now.

'It’s not lucky Arsenal anymore, by the way, with all these injuries. That will clear up and they’ve now got a squad to go the distance, but Liverpool are still ahead.’

In the aftermath of the clash at Anfield, Schmeichel had said on ViaPlay: 'I don’t want to insult Arsenal but their brand of football is so annoying to watch, it’s designed to exploit opponents’ mistakes while waiting for set pieces.

'Then they take their time and take the tempo out of the game. I have never in my life ever wanted a team to win a game of football more than Liverpool today. Arsenal bring an ugly brand of football to our game.

‘Arteta, let your team play football! Let them loose, let them be free. I am absolutely convinced that if Arteta does this, they will win more games.’

Over recent years, Arteta has come under pressure for his tactics in big games, along with his side's reliance on set pieces - and Arsenal scored 17 fewer goals than Liverpool last season.

Attackers Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze have arrived over the summer though, and the Gunners beat Leeds 5-0 in their first home game of the campaign.

They return to action on Saturday when they host managerless Nottingham Forest, before Arteta's side start their Champions league journey with a trip to Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.