Richard Keys warns Mikel Arteta will destroy Arsenal signing after ‘joke’ Man City display
Mikel Arteta has been told to change his tactics or risk rendering one of Arsenal’s main summer singings ineffective in his team after their last-gasp draw against Man City on Sunday.
Arsenal fell short in the Premier League for the third season in a row last time out, as Liverpool won the title while they came second, akin to their finishes behind Man City in the two years previous.
Arsenal drew 1-1 with title-rivals Man City on Sunday (21 September) as Gabriel Martinelli saved the day with a late strike to cancel out Erling Haaland‘s early opener at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta was criticised by Arsenal fans online for dropping Eberechi Eze and keeping a defence-focused midfield three of Mikel Merino, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi, with his side now already five points behind Liverpool after just five games of the new season.
Summer signing Eze set Martinelli up with a great through ball to notch his first goal contribution for the club, but the afternoon was a lot tougher for another recent Arsenal capture who has failed to set the league alight so far.
Keys blasts Mikel Arteta’s use of Viktor Gyokeres
Viktor Gyokeres has netted three goals in the first six games of his Arsenal career since a summer move from Sporting CP, but two of those were against newly-promoted Leeds, and one in that game was a late penalty.
He has not yet shown the kind of form that saw him pick up the Gerd Muller Award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday (22 September), and he struggled against Man City with no shots on goal and the least touches of any outfield player to play for 90 minutes (22) [Fotmob].
Richard Keys, who is a presenter and broadcaster for beIN SPORTS, blamed Arteta for Gyokeres’ woes on his blog post from Tuesday (23 September), and questioned why he was bought after insisting that Arsenal’s poor performance and set-up has been at fault for his struggles.
He said: “They [Arsenal] were a joke again yesterday. Awful. And Arteta had the cheek to come out after the game and tell us his team had played better than the day they put five past City last season. Does he think we’re all fools?
“No they didn’t. They were scared. Timid. Passive. Ok – they had a lot of possession, but the lions share if it was in their own half. What use is that?
“You’ve also got to ask why did Arteta buy Gyokeres if he’s not going to play to his strengths? He doesn’t want to be part of a tippy-tappy fest. He wants crosses. He wants balls over the top like Haaland gets now. He got nothing yesterday. Arteta will kill him unless he adapts.”
Arteta’s poor use of Gyokeres could lead to pressure
Premier League legend and current pundit Alan Shearer has previously insisted that Arsenal’s players need to supply Gyokeres better by playing first time balls into his feet and across the box rather than him having to create chances on his own.
His next move was the subject of intense speculation earlier this summer following an amazing season with Sporting that saw him bag 39 goals in 33 league games, and it is not as if he has lost that scoring touch overnight, so clearly something is not quite right under Arteta.
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Viktor Gyokeres | 52 | 54 | 13 |
Arteta’s credentials to lead Arsenal to the league title have been questioned by supporters, and there is a general feeling that he needs to win a trophy of any kind this term to keep his job.
If Gyokeres keeps struggling in attack and is unable to bag consistently for his new club, then the Gunners seem unlikely to win anything, and that, in turn, could well lead to the Spaniard’s exit soon.