Matthew Upson has implored England to mimic one particular aspect of Arsenal’s play when they face Denmark on Thursday.
The Three Lions got their reward for beating Serbia 1-0 in their opening Euro 2024 fixture on Sunday, but the performance looked lacklustre at times. In particular, it was a sluggish second-half performance that invited the Serbs back into the contest that’s led to some concerns despite the result.
And former Gunners defender Upson – who lifted the Premier League title at Highbury in 2003 – has advised that England need to show a little more without the ball. Specifically, it’s Arsenal’s work rate and pressing powers that he believes England need to emulate ahead of a crunch Group C clash against the Danes.
“I would like to see us be a little bit more high energy and probably aggressive out of possession,” he told football.london (via Luckyblock.com). “I think that’s the one big thing that is such a powerful tool. If you look at the teams that have been successful this season, their high press, their ability to [use] their wide players and midfield to go and get after teams. Arsenal do it really, really well.”
Arsenal were unfortunate to miss out on this past season’s Premier League crown for a second straight season as Mikel Arteta once again came close to the title. However, the Spaniard continues to draw plaudits for the programme he’s put into place at the Emirates Stadium.
Upson, 45, was in Dusseldorf for France’s 1-0 win over Austria on Monday evening but stressed his admiration for Ralf Rangnick’s underdogs. And he suggested England could take a page out of the former Manchester United manager’s book.
Austria have got nowhere near the quality, but they’re a good team. [Rangnick] has got them horrible to play against,” he explained. “They get after people, they’re fit, they’ll make life difficult, and I think I think that’s the one thing that could really make England a much tougher team to play against.”
Gareth Southgate’s side are two points clear at the top of their group and are guaranteed a top-two finish should they win in Frankfurt. Denmark were disappointed to concede a deflected equaliser in their own opening clash with Slovenia, which is sure to motivate Kasper Hjulmand’s men all the more to get a win of their own in midweek.
Upson earned 21 caps for England and appeared in their last two fixtures at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He also scored the Three Lions’ sole goal against Germany as they were ejected following a 4-1 defeat in the tournament’s round of 16.
Speaking from that experience at a major international competition, Upson would like to see the national team adopt a more proactive approach at Euro 2024. Few teams can match England’s attacking prowess at present given the wealth of talent at their disposal, but a lack of energy off the ball could prove their undoing in Germany.
