Mikel Arteta begins to receive the first criticisms since he is coach of Arsenal. Despite having won two titles and having managed to re-float a lost team, the two consecutive defeats against City and Leicester caused nervousness in the ‘gunner environment.
This is the case of Martin Keown, a former Arsenal defender, who warned the Gipuzkoan coach not to make the same mistakes as his predecessor, Unai Emery.
“They keep switching from one system to another and they did with Emery,” Keown said. “That is what I would like to see now, the same images, the same triangles, the same movements, the same associations, the same relationships.”
“If you keep changing it, you can't find the rhythm, and that's something I found in a very successful team. It was like putting on an old pair of sneakers to a game. Everything was there. You passed it to midfield, to Patrick Vieira, to Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry to the band; it was three passes, “Keown said of his time as a player.
“These players are getting the ball now and it's getting a bit stuck, so I think keep it simple and start building from this team. If this is the way he wants to play, stick around and try to get people to get the messages right and work on it. It was very static, the three forwards never really moved from their positions, they weren't available, “he added.
After what was said, the former defense wanted to maintain his support for Arteta. “This is a completely new project for the coach. We don't want to be too critical. I think he's the right man for the job 100%, a super brilliant coach and he's going to have setbacks, that's how he responds to this now. “