Arsenal: 4 mistakes Mikel Arteta made vs Man City

How much lower can Arsenal go? Heading into a game nobody gave Mikel Arteta a fighting chance of securing a win from, to nonetheless see a 5-0 defeat unfold in gutless and disorganised fashion constituted another nail in a deepening coffin.

The Arsenal bingo card was out and everyone was up on their feet claiming the prize money.

Starting the game strongly in the opening five minutes, it was refreshing to see the side take the game to Manchester City. Playing high in the opposition half with Bukayo Saka joining Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in an almost two-man strike force, the speed with which any positivity dissipated was like clockwork.

Some hopeless defending from Calum Chambers in the box, coupled with a total lack of communication between goalkeeper and defender, saw Ilkay Gundogan rise highest(!) to head home. Shades of Rob Holding in the home meeting last season.

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Arsenal: 4 mistakes Mikel Arteta made against Manchester City as Granit Xhaka is sent off in a demoralising 5-0 Premier League defeat

Wheels held on with blu tack then fell off completely when Ferran Torres poked home from another dreadfully defended cross, albeit Chambers inexplicably not earning a foul for a raise hand to his face.

Granit Xhaka had everyone shouting ‘bingo!’ with a reckless lunge off the ground that saw him sent off, by which point the misery turned to despair.

A despondent Arteta was on the sidelines watching the horror unfold, much of which was of his own doing. As in the previous defeat to Chelsea, some of his decisions had catastrophic consequences on the performance.

Ignore the result, the display was abject, disheartening and derisory. He has a lot to answer for.

1. Wholesale Changes Once More

Beating West Brom 6-0 with a system that suited the players, having just two full days to prepare for the City clash, Arteta opted to bamboozle everyone but himself by switching to a 3-4-3 shape with Sead Kolasinac being joined by Rob Holding and Calum Chambers in defence and Cedric at wing-back.

It also meant a different setup in midfield as Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka partnered one another for the first time. Sort of.

This level of disruption – before even delving into the tactical side of matters which will follow – is reminiscent of what Arteta has been guilty of for large spells of his management: asking too much of individuals.

Simplicity isn’t an admittance of defeat. Taking on the Premier League champions on their own patch and not radically altering where players are and what roles they have isn’t a sign of insecurity.

You can’t have midfielders need to do multiple jobs, or a left wing-back be tasked with providing the offensive width at the same time as trying to plug the hole in between himself and a narrow back three. As a coach you need to maximise the output of the players you have, which comes from protecting their weaknesses and finding systems to let their better attributes sing.

He asks too much of his team and his players.

2. Arteta Can’t Coach A Working Press

This has been evident during his tenure and was screamed into everyone’s ears when facing Chelsea: Arteta does not know how to coach an effective press.

On Saturday he instructed his forwards to stand high on the edge of the City box in bemusing static fashion. In such an instance you have to apply pressure on the ball or it may as well be cones stood in red and white.

Having such an expansive and open shape with Aubameyang and Saka wide apart allowed Ederson to thread balls into feet as if they were open invitations.

Hired as the first team coach before his premature promotion to manager, simple aspects that are utterly paramount to a team that wants to play a high line, such as instructing a working press, should be a given. They’re not.

Ederson was given the freedom to stroll out of his box and pick out any number of highly technical midfielders to hold, turn or release. It’s structurally disproportionate all over the pitch and allows opposition full-backs to run into open spaces and overload all over the pitch.

This is not top-level coaching.

3. Fielding Granit Xhaka as a Single Pivot

It comes back to asking too much of certain players, as well as issues with the press, but this is more of an individual case. One that can’t be fathomed, explained or mitigated.

Who in their right mind decides that Xhaka can playing as the sole holding midfielder against Manchester City?

The team selection baffled everyone pre-game but of all the decisions made by the manager none were as inexplicable than asking the player with the least mobility and athleticism in the entire squad to hold that area down.

There was no way to squeeze City’s midfield to win the ball back and it resulted in the likes of Bernardo Silva and Gundogan having a free run of the Swiss either side as they strolled into pockets of space in between lines (if there indeed were any lines).

Uncontested, if you’re looking to neutralise such threats – it was eerily similar to Havertz and Mount – then the last thing you should be doing is asking a sluggish midfielder to cover runners and space all at once.

If that was the route he truly felt was the road to success, at least field someone more physically able to fulfilling the task, such as Sambi Lokonga.

Fortunately, the Belgian was spared the devastation, but at least Arsenal would have had 11 men on the pitch all afternoon.

4. Sead Kolasinac Should Not be Playing for Arsenal

Pablo Mari has been atrocious this season. Championship standard defending throughout the summer and into the current campaign.

Would the result have been any different if the Spaniard would have started? Probably not, let’s be honest.

But at least he isn’t in the midst of cancelling his contract and wanting his full salary paid out so he can go and join Mesut Ozil over at Fenerbahce. At least he isn’t on the way out of the club this summer.

Taking on anyone, let alone the champions, and fielding a player who you are trying to get out the door in whichever financially draining method it requires beggars belief. This is the management, coaching, leadership, whatever you want to call it, of someone who is in a job they are not qualified to be part of.

Yes, his hands are tied with absences, but this also follows through into allowing William Saliba to leave on loan. Mari, Chambers and Holding were chosen ahead of the Frenchman, yet still he plays Kolasinac. There is no hiding behind those calls. They were his based on his own observations. They were wrong.

Trying to find sense in such decision-making leaves you staring at an empty chalkboard.