Waddle was unimpressed by Arteta’s complaints. The former Sunderland man, who had a short spell at the club in 1997, said that managers should focus on overcoming problems rather than criticising opponents for playing smart.
“It’s always strange to criticise your opponent’s tactics, at the end of the day,” he told in an interview with SheKicks. “You know, the whole point of football is to get a result. It’s a game. You have to work out how to get results and win, and at least avoid defeat. You work out how to get the best out of your team and cause problems to the opposition. You come up with a plan, and if it works, then you’ve done your job well, so I wouldn’t criticise Sunderland.
“People could talk about Arsenal, about how they park the bus and rely on set-pieces. Everyone wants to have a dig at everyone else’s tactics, but it’s your job to find the weaknesses and exploit them, or spot a good tactic and use it yourself. This time, Sunderland worked out how to get a point, so the manager got it right. It might make it harder to break down sides if they park the bus, but it’s your job to figure out how to break it down. It’s up to you, and you don’t moan about it. You figure it out and you overcome it, and then you get a little smile on your face that a team sat back and they still couldn’t stop you. Obviously, Arteta wasn’t happy, but Sunderland had their game plan and it worked.”