DAMNED if he does and damned if he doesn’t, Mikel Arteta must be feeling that he just can’t win with some Arsenal fans right now.
Regularly criticised for changing a winning line-up, the Spaniard is now getting it in the neck for not giving a break to star winger Bukayo Saka.
GettyMikel Arteta has faced criticism for his handling of Bukayo Saka’s fitness[/caption]
GettyAaron Ramsdale’s dropping has also proved a little controversial[/caption]
Arteta might have thought that leading the Gunners to runners-up in the Premier League against all expectations last season would have proved that he knows exactly what he is doing.
Yet he clearly hasn’t convinced all the social media experts who are turning up the heat ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash with champions Manchester City.
Chief among Arsenal’s concerns is the fitness of Saka, who limped off during Tuesday’s Champions League defeat in Lens after suffering a muscular strain attempting a backheel.
Arteta insists that the injury was totally unrelated to the foot problem which had forced Saka’s early exit from his previous games against Spurs and Bournemouth.
But many fans are still asking why Saka was even risked at Bournemouth and Lens when he has been struggling to cope with all the bumps and bruises he has copped this season.
The exciting 22-year-old has started a club record 87 consecutive Premier League games and will be desperate to keep that run going against City at the weekend.
But there is a growing belief that he is too brave for his own good and needs to be withdrawn from the firing line to protect against the risk of sustaining a long-term injury.
The dilemma for Arteta is that while there are alternatives available in Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson, neither is a top-notch replacement for Saka.
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Arteta is also finding himself under fire for his decision to go with David Raya as his number one keeper after the Spaniard’s poor kick led directly to Lens’ first goal on Tuesday night.
Aaron Ramsdale remains a firm favourite with the fans after his huge contribution to the team’s success and many people still wonder why the England international suddenly finds himself out of favour.
But Arteta has clearly decided that Raya is the way forward, just as he is sticking to his guns over £65million Kai Havertz despite the German’s early struggles to impress in his new midfield role.
And now that Thomas Partey has recovered from the groin strain which has sidelined him for the past month, Arteta is facing another big call ahead of the City game.
Because the Ghanaian international played the first three games of the season at right–back to accommodate Havertz’s presence in midfield.
And that led to the exclusion of centre-half Gabriel Magalhaes, who has been an immense defensive presence since returning to the starting line-up after Partey’s injury.
Arteta has already said that he wants his team to be more unpredictable this season and he will try to keep Pep Guardiola guessing right up to kick-off on Sunday.
And you suspect that he will want to have at least one surprise up his sleeve for a match which will have a huge influence on the Emirates narrative going into next week’s international break.
Arsenal lost home and away to City last season and finished five points behind them in the title race. If they had won either game, they would have been Champions.
But captain Martin Odegaard insists that Sunday’s match is far too early to be considered a title decider.
He says: “It’s a massive game and it would be a nice boost to go above them in the table.
“But it’s still early in the season so we have to go day by day and just make sure that we are ready for Sunday.
“Tuesday night was not the best game for us so we have to learn from that defeat and make sure we bounce back in the next game.
“Sunday is the perfect opportunity to do that and everyone is excited and looking forward to facing City.
“I’m not sure about the nature of Bukayo’s injury but I hope it’s not too bad.
“Any team in the world would miss Bukayo so hopefully he’s going to be OK and ready to play again.
“But we have many great players so we’ll just have to see what happens in the next few days.”
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