Arjen Robben rubbishes 'one trick pony' criticism

In an interview with the official Bundesliga magazine and reported by Goal.com, he was asked about complaints that all he ever does is cut inside onto his left foot, making him one-dimensional and easy to defend against

The 31-year-old was not impressed by such talk.

"Defenders can't predict what I'm going to do. That's the great thing about football: every situation is different," he said.

"It is very important that your actions always have an element of surprise. You only make things easy for your opponent when you always do the same thing.

"I have added a certain variation to my game. I will not cut inside all the time, but I will not try to pass my opponent on the outside all the time, either.

"I always try to attack my direct opponent and then look at how he reacts. From there on, I do everything on intuition."

Robben also took time out to praise manager Pep Guardiola, suggesting that the Spaniard has helped Robben and his team-mates play a more varied game.

"We can vary our game even more under him. We can play a number of formations," he said.

"That means every player has to be able to play in a position that is not his natural position, too. That can only make you more flexible as a player. It gives you a new challenge."

Of course, there's an element of truth in the accusations that he's a one-trick pony. But does it really matter when that trick is so good? After all, nobody complains that Messi or Ronaldo are one-trick ponies because all they ever do is leave opponents standing as they stick the ball in the net.