WHEN it rains it pours. And it is teeming down on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta proper now.
4 factors off the relegation zone within the Premier League, might final 12 months’s FA Cup-winning boss ship some respite in a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie towards his former employer Manchester Metropolis?
Mikel Arteta is below the pump at ArsenalCredit score: Reuters
The quick reply is not any. However in actuality Tuesday night’s 4-1 defeat showcased how Arteta can’t be the only scapegoat for the Gunners’ disastrous kind.
Towards his previous boss Pep Guardiola, a hatful of issues conspired towards Arteta and Arsenal.
Shellshocked by Gabriel Jesus’ third-minute header, the returning Gabriel Martinelli was simply the intense spark Arteta had been calling out for along with his facet bereft of creativity of late.
The Brazilian confirmed all the keenness of somebody caught on the sidelines for 9 months throughout a pandemic – and it was no shock when his pinpoint ball in arrange Alexandre Lacazette for an vital equaliser.
When Arsenal midfielder Dani Ceballos theatrically fell to the bottom clutching his face after a conflict with Fernandinho – with no VAR at play on this stage of the competitors – there was no probability of additional motion.
Granted Ceballos was exuberant along with his flailing arms after a minimal brush from his opponent.
Nonetheless, Fernandinho clearly raised his arms and everybody’s favorite technological advance in soccer might have simply determined it was value Stuart Attwell jogging over to the monitor earlier than issuing a straight purple card.
And it wasn’t the final time Arteta was ruing the absence of VAR.
Martinelli succumbed to a nasty ankle blow suffered in a collision with Zack Steffen earlier than the break and departed instantly after the interval.
Some issues simply cannot be accounted for and Runar Alex Runnarsson’s clanger to present Riyad Mahrez a purpose after 54 minutes was the sucker punch that modified the sport.
Arteta was slammed for his best Rafa Benitez impression in the week when he pointed to a protracted listing of weird stats to defend his facet.
And he continued his impression of the previous Liverpool boss by turning tinkerman and utilizing Runnarsson between the sticks.
Runar Alex Runnarsson’s howler allowed Riyadh Mahrez to attainCredit score: Information Group Newspapers Ltd
Phil Foden’s essential third purpose got here from an offside placeCredit score: Information Group Newspapers Ltd
The Icelandic back-up was given a run out in an enormous recreation, and in hindsight Bernd Leno would have been a extra dependable choice, however absolutely the Spanish boss can’t be held accountable for his keeper’s outrageous butter fingers.
The double whammy was full when Phil Foden dinked over Runnarsson to make it 3-1 and successfully finish Arsenal’s already slim hopes… just for replays to indicate the England teen was clearly offside.
Pesky VAR. You by no means know what you’ve gotten till it is gone.
And that would properly be the case for Arteta. Arsenal should not sack their supervisor regardless of the bookies having him as odds-on to go earlier than the season’s out.
Sky Sports activities’ Jamie Redknapp summed it up completely after the sport.
He mentioned: “There’s solely three or 4 gamers you can belief as a brand new supervisor coming in.
“There’s too lots of them that can allow you to down. It is a crew stuffed with kidders.
“In the event you eliminate the supervisor, who is available in? Who’s on the market?”
