Never once did someone say Argentina were holding back the way people are doing with France and England. That's where the discussion started. Scaloni's Argentina has been nowhere near critiqued the way England, France and even Portugal have the last years. People expect a lot more from those nations offensively. Who is Argentina supposed to unshackle? There's no Riquelme or Aguero sitting on the bench to provide offensive magic.
Maybe in 2014 did Argentina rely on a good defence (with average players). But not lately. Now they can absorb pressure as well as press high, counter attack and keep possession to steer the tempo of the game. They are flexible but absolutely not afraid of putting up a good fight.