‘Astounded’ pundit tears into Arsenal man who will cost the Gunners the Premier League title
Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys thinks Mikel Arteta will “be the reason” if Arsenal don’t win the Premier League title this season.
The Gunners went behind early on against Man City on Sunday with Erling Haaland producing a clinical finish to give the Citizens a ninth-minute lead.
Arsenal did find a way to equalise eventually with Gabriel Martinelli producing a sublime piece of skill to level the match up in the third minute of second-half injury time in a 1-1 draw.
The second-placed Gunners are already five points adrift of leader Liverpool after just five matches with the Reds winning all five of their fixtures.
Arsenal boss Arteta was criticised for starting a midfield three of Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Declan Rice with Eberechi Eze left on the bench against Man City.
Numerous former players and pundits have insisted that Arteta is being too cautious in his approach to the big games and Keys thinks it could cost them the title.
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Keys said on beIN Sports: “I’m astounded. I said to you last week if they don’t win the title he’ll [Arteta] be the reason! You’ve got to start Eze, unless he’s injured, you have to be starting Eze in this game and every game.”
After fellow pundit Andy Gray questioned why Arteta started Leandro Trossard over Eze or Martinelli, Keys added: “When you’re playing at home, you’ve got Eze, who’s a crowd pleaser, set the place on fire. You’ve spent big money on him, and you’re playing Trossard, he’s a sub, he’s not even first on.”
When asked why he started a midfield three, Arteta told reporters;Â “Because I thought it was the best one to start the game. Nobody asked me about the midfield three in Bilbao.”
On whether squad depth was a factor in his team selection, Arteta continued: “Well, there are a lot of factors, obviously. The first one is their performance level and the emotional state that they are in. That’s one. After that, it’s what we believe is the best thing in relation to the opponent and the type of game that we predict.
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“And after that, there is as well chemistry and relationships that make each other better and we need to understand it.”
On Eze’s positional versatility: “Today he played a little bit more shifted to the right and there was a reason for that. When play shifted from the left whether it’s as an attacking midfielder, as a winger coming into that space as well, he’s someone that is very, very efficient and very creative.
“We know that, that’s why we brought him in. So we’re using him in different spaces.”
