Arsenal: 3 players Mikel Arteta needs to step up

Mikel Arteta has improved the Arsenal team. But now it is time for the team to respond. Here are three players he needs to step up.

For Mikel Arteta, his opening month-and-a-half as Arsenal head coach has been rather successful. While the results have been a little spotty, no league wins in their last four matches, the underlying processes have been much more positive, the team beginning to show an element of identity and progression in their play. But for Arteta to enjoy a flourishing end to the season, he needs his players to step up to the plate.

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Here are three in particular that Arteta needs to improve.

3. David Luiz

If there has been one element of the team that Mikel Arteta has improved the most, it is the defence, even if the defence itself still has many question marks. The greater intensity and structure of the high press, allied with a more compact and well-drilled structure of the team, has drastically improved Arsenal’s defensive numbers. But they still need more from their centre-backs.

The leader of that group is David Luiz, despite having only joined the club in the summer. Luiz has been inconsistent on the pitch this season, but is viewed as an ‘incredible force’, per David Ornstein, off it, his leadership and character crucial elements in the Arsenal dressing room. It is now time for his play on the pitch to replicate his off-the-pitch impact.

Luiz has improved substantially under Arteta, it should be said, with his excellent distribution especially impactful, but the communication and organisation of the backline can still improve, with mistakes still painfully prevalent. That requires a character to step up and lead. Luiz must be that man.