‘This is insanity’ – Arsenal fans can’t believe what Mikel Arteta did against Man City
Arsenal supporters have been left raging at manager Mikel Arteta for a decision he made against Man City.
Gabriel Martinelli was the super sub as Arsenal defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in midweek to begin their Champions League campaign with a win.
Arsenal had extra preparation time over Man City before Mikel Arteta was reacquainted with Pep Guardiola.
The pair have had a number of intense battles over the past couple of seasons as they have both battled for the Premier League title.
Arsenal fans blast Mikel Arteta for dropping Eberechi Eze
Many Arsenal fans were left stunned when the team news dropped at Emirates Stadium.
Eberechi Eze started against Nottingham Forest and Athletic Bilbao, and many expected the summer arrival to start against Man City.
Instead, Arteta decided to start Leandro Trossard on the left and Mikel Merino kept his place in midfield with Martin Odegaard out with a shoulder problem.
One supporter said on social media: “All the creativity is on the bench. Why is Arteta going defensive against Manchester city at home????”
Another fan wrote: “This is so insane and infuriating.. how do you put in merino when you’ve got 2 creative firepower in Eze and Nwaneri??
“Trossard, who has barely got a full 45 minutes this season starting against this city side. If we don’t win this, it’s on Arteta,” someone else commented.
One supporter replied: “It’s all well and good saying Eze and Martinelli will come on later but why not just start them in the first place. Especially for a game like today.”
“Benched Eze, Saka and Nelli to start Trossard and Merino as #10. Mikel Arteta i can’t defend this if we lose,” a fan said.
“Playing Merino as a 10 when you have Eze and Nwaneri on the bench. Same mistake against Liverpool,” another posted.
“I don’t see any creativity in this line up and it’s just gonna be another boring game. This Merino 10 gimmick will be the end of this manager,” someone else pointed out.
An Arsenal fan also wrote: “Why’s Arteta always scared You don’t need 3 DMs against city,play Eze in the middle.”
Arteta opts for pragmatic midfield three
Arteta looked to defensive solidity in his midfield choice against Man City, rather than switching Odegaard for a like-for-like replacement.
Eze would have brought that creativity into the midfield which Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice cannot.
Arteta was criticised for Arsenal‘s performance at Liverpool, which looked to contain the Reds rather than exploit their weaknesses.
Many believe Arteta has to switch his mentality against their title rivals to win the Premier League title.