Mikel Arteta dismisses claims that he is tactically overly cautious, saying his Arsenal team is the most aggressively aspirated in British football. Sky Sports experts Gary Neville and Jamie Carrager suggested that Arsenal was too defensive in a draw with Manchester City, accusing Arteta of applying “handbrake” to his team’s choices and tactics.
But ahead of Arsenal’s Carabao Cup match with Portvale, Arteta passionately defended his philosophy, claiming goalkeeper David Raya, centre-back Gabriel and midfielder Mikel Merino are proving he’s not just focused on defense. The Gunners boss explained:
“The back in the middle, the one that attacks most is the one that attacks most in one phase. Two full backs, you see all the stats. Play mainly with players attacking midfield during attack on the right side.
“So I think we have a lot of offensive offensive qualities. Some of the players are more talented than the other regions than the games we play. I think we’ll be playing a victory record at this football club, the goals we scored, the way we play against Manchester City, the way we played against Manchester City.
“I can’t waste that opportunity, and if those comments are good, the intentions of them aren’t that good for us, and not that good for us, then it depends on where the comments are coming from. That’s when I can analyze it.
“So, if you have, how can you be dominant against such a team? What are the words? Handbrake. Domination and handbrake, those are two different words. But I accept everything.
“What is the intention, what is the purpose? I had a lot of messages on my phone so they couldn’t believe what we did to Manchester City. People, coaches, managers, CEOs, presidents, I’m very proud of them.
Carragher said of Sky Sports coverage of Sunday’s game:
“But when it comes to these big games, he chooses a team that feels like he’s thinking more about the opposition. That doesn’t mean you can’t beat the league. Jose Mourinho has won the Premier League three times.
“It was a 45 minute waste, so the reason I’m saying is because I played for such a manager at Liverpool and we were really close. We were the first team, but we didn’t win the Premier League.
“That’s what Mikel Arteta does. I won’t change my mind. Liverpool was there for a second half of the take at Anfield, and Man City was there at the start of this game.
Neville added to his self-titled Sky Sports podcast, “His (Arteta’s) action at halftime was a manager who thought he’d made a mistake because he hadn’t planned if he had two alternatives at halftime. You gave him 45 minutes in a big match.
“Arsenal doesn’t create enough opportunities in these types of games. They score a lot of goals from the set pieces…but that’s not enough. They’re Saka, Martinelli, Odegard, Habatsu, they’re very talented.
Arteta is expected to make some changes in Port Vale, with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga likely to appear.
Arteta continued: “Everyone loves Max. You just want to hold him, help him. He’s a very nice boy too, and he’s very much liked by everyone here.”
