Arteta warned he’s making same mistake as Emery at Arsenal

Joe Williams
Mikel Arteta Arsenal

Mikel Arteta is making the same mistake that Unai Emery made during his time at Arsenal, according to former defender Martin Keown.

Emery was given the responsibility at Arsenal following Arsene Wenger’s departure in the summer of 2018.

But the current Villarreal coach didn’t make the most of the opportunity handed to him and lasted just 18 months at the Emirates Stadium, with Arteta taking over in December 2019.


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Arsenal fans are now cautiously optimistic under their new leader who seems to have created a feel-good factor around the club since his appointment.

However, the Gunners lost 1-0 at home to Leicester City on Sunday, leading to Keown likening the way Arteta changes formation to his predecessor.

“They keep changing from one system to another and they did this with Emery,” Keown told Stadium Astro. “That’s what I would like to see now, the same pictures, the same triangles, the same movements, the same partnerships, the same relationships.

“If you keep changing it, you don’t find a rhythm, and that’s something that I found in a very successful team. It was like putting an old pair of slippers on for a game. Everything was there. You’d fire it into midfield to Patrick Vieira, into Dennis Bergkamp, [Thierry] Henry into the channel; it was three passes.

“These players now are getting the ball now and it’s jamming a little bit, so I think keep it simple and start building from this team. If this is the way he wants to play, keep with it, and try to put the people in it and get the messages right and work on it.

“It was very static, the front three never really moved from positions, they didn’t make themselves available.”

Arteta has won the Community Shield and the FA Cup during his short time in charge and Keown is trying to stay supportive.

“This is a brand new project for the manager. We don’t want to be over-critical,” Keown added. “I believe he’s the right man for the job 100 per cent, super-bright manager and he’s going to have setbacks, it’s how he responds to this now.”