Posted by Darren Bent, a former player for both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, has criticized Mikel Arteta, the manager of the latter club, calling his ‘arrogant’ in his approach to choosing his lineups.
Bent thinks Arteta made a mistake by starting two injured forwards in Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in Arsenal’s 2-2 Premier League tie with Chelsea.
“I think [Mikel] Arteta has been a little bit arrogant in the way he’s picked his teams,” Bent said to Premier League Productions.
“I don’t know if they are still carrying knocks, but they just didn’t look like they had the same pop they usually have when they got the ball. I don’t think Martinelli looked especially fit [against Chelsea], and I don’t think Saka looked fit.
Looking at the Thomas Partey issue as an example, you could say, “Now he was amazing last season, had injuries towards the end, and wasn’t the same after that, but it’s almost like you want to see Rice, Partey, and Odegaard in midfield.
We witnessed it in the second half against Manchester City, when they took command of the game and appeared much more relaxed. It’s understandable if Mikel Arteta doesn’t want to play any of those three positions, though.
On Tuesday, Arsenal defeated Sevilla by a score of 2-1 in the Champions League.