Sneijder slams Arsenal star in ‘shoelace’ claim vs Atletico as UEFA are told ‘to intervene’ | OneFootball

Wesley Sneijder insists that Jurrien Timber wouldn’t let Ben White “tie his shoelaces” after Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.

Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game on 44 minutes as Arsenal won 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate in their Champions League semi-final.

Arsenal were without Timber against Atletico Madrid because of a groin injury, as White started his fourth match in a row in all competitions in the Dutchman’s absence.

And Sneijder picked out White for criticism as he highlighted a lack of squad depth as the reason Arsenal will struggle to win the Champions League, as they await Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the final.

Sneijder told Ziggo Sport: “You have Timber in your squad, and you think, ‘that’s a good full-back, he’s going to help me’. Then he drops out for a long time and then you have to fit in White… Timber wouldn’t even let him tie his shoelaces.

“[Mikel]Arteta cannot field two squads, other teams can. So I don’t think that is justified.

“For years, you have had Liverpool and City in England that you have to compete against. They have much better players. And in Europe, there are many even better players. He [Arteta] is simply doing an impressive job with his team.”

Sneijder was far from complimentary about the game he saw between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking at half-time, Sneijder said: “I said after 35 minutes that UEFA needs to intervene.

“They need to call London, ‘just get off the pitch, both of you, and the final will be played tomorrow’. We knew this was going to happen. Atletico in a block, dropping back, and Arsenal having a lot of possession.”

Arteta ‘really deserves a statue already’ at Arsenal – Sneijder

Sneijder clearly doesn’t rate the squad at Arsenal and thinks Arteta deserves a statue for what he has already done at the north London club.

The Dutch legend continued: “I can’t say it often enough, people, but he really deserves a statue already.

“With this team, it is so impressive to reach the final. Leaving all the other world-class teams behind you. I think that is very impressive.”

When asked in his post-match press conference how proud he is of the whole club, Arteta told reporters: “It’s an incredible night. We made history again together. I cannot be happier and prouder of everyone involved in this football club.

“The manner that we got to see outside the stadium was special and unique. The atmosphere that our supporters created, the energy, the way they lived every ball with us, it made it special and unique. I never felt that in the stadium. We knew how much it meant to everybody.

“We put everything in, the boys did an incredible job. After 20 years and for the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.”