Arsenal vs Man City: Time to ask questions of Mikel Arteta’s decisions

Mikel Arteta’s Questionable Arsenal Substitutions

The Aston Villa defeat, where bringing Willian on down the left and shifting Nicolas Pepe out to the right killed the momentum Arsenal had built, is another recent example. Logistically and tactically it narrowed the pitch and played in the hosts’ hands.

Persisting with Willian on that flank has offered nothing when made other than social media having another chance to button mash. Against Leeds, the Brazilian came on with Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe lying in wait. More mementos for the scrapbook.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suffered from an off day against Benfica, missing three chances, yet as soon as he comes off Arsenal created nothing. You’d rather have chances falling with the potential to be converted than none arriving at all.

Even in his first season the issue arose. It’s not new.

The underlying metrics and results this season are atrocious. Of that there is no escaping. A dire season is what it is – the reasons for it excusable to a degree and are all part of a wider picture – and there is every faith from this writer that Arteta is the man to lead the club forward. No discussion of that yet. He is, however, making bemusing decisions off the bench that grind more than a few gears.

Equally, a few times we’ve seen players dead on their feet and gasping for air, only for other members of the side to make way. The timing of his calls and the decisions themselves share the blame, even if he has pulled the rabbit out of the hat with substitutions in the past.

Just two goals in the final 15 minutes of Premier League matches this season – the joint-fewest in the division – attests to Arteta’s unwillingness to break the choreographed structure that has weighed heavy of the team.

He is learning in this role, just as the players are learning under him. And while the ceiling for this team may have already been reached, there is scope to push it higher if the decisions from the dugout are examined with the same fine tooth comb before a ball is kicked.