Rio Ferdinand has aimed a dig at ‘touchy Arsenal people’ after the Gunners lost 1-0 at Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot as the Italian champions secured maximum points against the English runners-up.
Former Manchester United defender Ferdinand covered the match as a pundit for TNT Sports alongside ex-Arsenal star Martin Keown and presenter Laura Woods.
There was a very awkward encounter between Ferdinand and Keown – with the former critical of the Gunners – and the latter ‘standing up’ for his old club.
‘Everyone wants to put Arsenal away,’ Keown said. ‘I don’t think there’s a massive crisis for Arsenal. I don’t think they’re that far away from getting it right.’
Ferdinand replied: ‘I don’t think anyone’s are trying to put Arsenal away here, Martin, we’re just stating facts.’
Keown later added: ‘A lot of people [are] knocking Arsenal, I’m standing up for them a bit tonight.’
Ferdinand then turned to host Woods – an Arsenal supporter herself – and said: ‘Why are Arsenal people so touchy? I don’t understand, why is that? No one’s having a dig – we’re not having a dig.’
Before the interaction between Ferdinand and Keown, the ex-United centre-back had been critical of Arsenal in his analysis.
‘They’ll be hugely frustrated,’ Ferdinand declared.
‘Forty-six crosses in this game, the second-most in the Champions League this season, second half especially they got into some good areas around the box but again the creativity wasn’t there, the imagination, the pictures, the guile around the box.This has been said far too often this season.
‘It’s about being clean, it’s about being clinical, and in those moments you need the players to step up.
‘They’re getting into good areas around the box but then it’s about the underlaps, the overlaps, creating two-vs-ones, overloads in wide areas, I don’t think they’re doing that enough to create openings in the final third.’
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