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

‘Mikel Arteta the coach’ there are few qualms about. ‘Mikel Arteta the man-manager and micro-manager’ the jury is still out. Against Manchester City on Sunday, there was another example of the Arsenal boss making the wrong decisions from the touchline.

His pre-game analysis is widely revered as being meticulous and refined. Stalwarts of the managerial scene, Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola, have both lavished Arteta with praise in the past week alone. Highlighting his thought process, planning and broad expertise, if you ever wanted assurances that Arsenal need to stick with their man, lap up the words of two wise men.

Where Arteta won’t draw acclaim is his substitutions.

There will be no blown-up, reactionary jibe to losing to Manchester City. It will happen more violently to teams far superior to Arsenal. But still in the game with 20 minutes to go, and indeed with one minute left on the clock, it would have been nice to see the waters tested more.

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Time to ask questions of Mikel Arteta’s substitutions as Arsenal manager

Should Arsenal see the game out without going gung-ho, or throw some caution to the wind and potentially lose 2-0 but have a greater chance of scraping a result? Sometimes against opposition of this quality, try as you might they don’t permit you to lay a glove on them even if you come out swinging.

More could still have been done. Above all, the decision to bring Dani Ceballos on with five minutes to play offered nothing. It was at least 20 minutes too late. Mohamed Elneny’s decision-making on the ball even evoked audible groans from Arteta on the touchline. There was nothing to gain in keeping him on for so long.

Arsene Wenger was regularly critiqued for not making changes until the 75th minute onward, his reasons for that being an understanding of how matches develop and open up in the latter stages. Keep a defensive structure, but veer away from routine attacking phases and have forwards on the pitch who can exploit fatigue, work varied and pre-determined patterns and inject some individuality. When the occasion calls for it, this mantra can bear fruit.

Arteta has made more questionable substitutions than just those on Sunday. As stated, this is a culmination and not a singular reaction.

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.