TheNewsGuru

Tag: arteta

  • Mikel Arteta explains rotations for Fulham draw

    Mikel Arteta explains rotations for Fulham draw

    Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended his team selection for their 1-1 draw with Fulham.

    Arteta made five changes from the win at Europa League opponents Slavia Prague on Thursday.

    The manager said, “There are different reasons for that. One of them is because some of the players haven’t recovered yet from Thursday night, they have played so many minutes and it was a big risk to play them. Some of them because they deserved an opportunity, but we cannot change 10 players all the time.

    “We took some decisions, like with Laca to play in the game, because he felt good, and he still got injured. It’s always a balance. If you rest them, [you’re asked] why do you rest them? If you don’t, [you’re asked] why do you play them again?”

  • Arteta admits not speaking to Aubameyang before benching

    Arteta admits not speaking to Aubameyang before benching

    Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admits he didn’t speak with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ahead of benching him for last night’s Europa draw with Slavia Prague.

    After the 1-1 draw, Arteta was asked if he had spoken to his captain to explain his decision before kickoff.

    “Well I cannot talk with everybody individually ever week,” replied the manager, “but we try to be transparent and communicate with the players as clearly as possible for them to understood the role that they have in the game. When he came on, he showed the right attitude and the right commitment.

    “It was a big decision to leave some players out but we decided to play the team who had the best chance at the start of the game, and as well have some key players there to change the game when we need it. I think when they came on they had a real impact, which was very necessary in this competition and they did what we expected them to do.”

  • Arsenal need more from Willian and Aubameyang – Arteta

    Arsenal need more from Willian and Aubameyang – Arteta

    Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits they need more from Willian.

    Arteta was asked today for an assessment of the midfielder’s first season with the Gunners.

    He said, “I think we can reach a higher performance level because his potential is so big. He needs the contribution to the team and the team to be stable in order to provide what he needs to express himself on the pitch. It’s true that in recent weeks we’ve seen a much better version of him and his contribution when he is playing has been really positive. So it’s going to be crucial, his form, for the performance of the team in the last two months.”

    Arteta was also asked about the form of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

    He added: “I think the whole team and myself have to put in better performances than we did against Liverpool, that’s for sure.”

  • Gary Neville brands Arsenal players ‘a joke’

    Gary Neville brands Arsenal players ‘a joke’

    Arsenal’s players have been accused of working against manager Mikel Arteta.

    Former England assistant coach Gary Neville has branded Arsenal’s forwards a “little mafia” and questioned whether Arteta’s senior players are still playing for him.

    “I have to say that there was a few of those players in that front part of the pitch, it looked like a little mafia that,” Neville said.

    “It looked like a little group of players who weren’t comfortable. Like there was a disconnect between them and the manager.

    “The effort from that front six… They were a joke. The lack of energy. All the way through the first half I was getting more uncomfortable. Mikel Arteta, I think he would have been shocked by the lack of application.

    “Liverpool won the ball back time and time again. It was a walk in the park. They never laid a finger on them. A really bad day. It was a dark moment. A cross-roads moment. I think Mikel Arteta will have come away from that game, thinking, ‘it’s me or them.’

    “I called the older players fed lions. Arsenal have got a big problem with some of those players.”

  • Ex-Arsenal defender: Arteta must drop Aubameyang for Martinelli

    Ex-Arsenal defender: Arteta must drop Aubameyang for Martinelli

    Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta risks losing the respect of his squad if underperforming Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not dropped says Martin Keown, with the Gunners boss being urged to bring Gabriel Martinelli back in from the cold.

    Another uninspiring performance was delivered by the north London heavyweights last time out, with Liverpool leaving Emirates Stadium with a comfortable 3-0 win.

    Aubameyang offered little in that contest, and Keown believes big decisions now need to be taken with the club captain and the Brazilian teenager.

    Former Gunners defender Keown told the Daily Mail: “Arteta has a big decision to make on his captain. He set an example by dropping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the north London derby recently. Aubameyang was supposed to start against Spurs but turned up late and was pulled.

    “Should Arteta not be dropping him for performing as poorly as he did against Liverpool? If he sticks with him, he risks losing the respect of the group.

    “It’s time to bring in 19-year-old Gabriel Martinelli. He is too good to be sitting on the bench. His team-mates see him in training and know what he can do. They will be baffled by his continued absence. I know I am.

    “Use him on the left. Use Martinelli’s fellow 19-year-old Bukayo Saka on the right. Start Emile Smith Rowe. Then you’ll have a team who can pose problems for the opposition. There were too many passengers against Liverpool.

    “They had Aubameyang on the left, Alexandre Lacazette central and Nicolas Pepe on the right – three club-record signings – but they missed the energy and drive of Smith Rowe and Saka.

    “There is no time for Arsenal’s players to feel sorry for themselves. They need to bounce back against a Prague side who have knocked Leicester and Rangers out of the Europa League.

    “Arteta has big decisions to make – ones he needs to get right.”

  • Arteta welcomes transfer interest for Arsenal striker

    Arteta welcomes transfer interest for Arsenal striker

    Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has welcomed transfer interest for Alexandre Lacazette.

    Roma and Sevilla have joined long-term admirers Atletico Madrid in keeping tabs on Lacazette, interest Arteta welcomes.

    With his contract expiring next summer and Lacazette turning 30 next month the situation regarding his long-term future represents a potential dilemma for Arsenal.

    Arteta said: “I’m always happy when people talk about our players and speculate – that means they are doing well and getting attention from other clubs.

    “The situation with Laca we will address in the summer, speak to him and just propose the future we want and that’s it. Now I just want players focused and only focused on performing and getting the best out of them for the team.

    “Yes I think he has been really good, in really good form for months now. He is sustaining that level, scoring goals and providing the team with something different as well. His work-rate has been phenomenal and it’s what we want.

    “We need those type of players hitting the best level when we want to have the chance to do that because over the course of the season we have been missing goals, that creativity in the final third and we need those players to step in and make the difference for the team.”

  • Willian admits Arteta axe at Arsenal tough to take

    Willian admits Arteta axe at Arsenal tough to take

    Arsenal winger Willian admits being dropped by the Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has been tough to take.

    Willian started 12 of his first 14 Premier League games under Mikel Arteta but then found himself slipping down the pecking order over the festive period as Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe continued to impress.

    “t really was a very difficult start, apart from that first game against Fulham, where I had a good performance, I managed to make a good game,” Willian said in an interview with ESPN Brazil.

    “Even after that game there were some games that we won, I even had a good game, but then we ended up getting a bad streak.

    “I also got a bad streak and I think my worst professional time to date, since I went up at Corinthians and was sold to Ukraine, then I arrived at Chelsea, without a doubt. This phase that passed now was the worst time that I think I lived as a professional.

    “Of course, when you live in a difficult moment, you get really upset and try to find solutions, a way to improve, try to help the team.

    “That’s what I’ve been doing all this time, I never stopped training, to work, to dedicate myself as much as possible.

    “It took a little while to leave, but lately in the last games I’ve been playing well again, standing out with assists, playing well. So I’m happy to be back to find my good football.”

  • Arsenal players support Arteta over Aubameyang axing

    Arsenal players support Arteta over Aubameyang axing

    Arsenal senior players support manager Mikel Arteta over his axing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for their victory over Tottenham on Sunday.

    The captain was caught in traffic on Sunday before the north London derby, making him late and prompting Arteta to remove him from the starting XI for arguably the biggest match of Arsenal’s season.

    The Daily Mail says Aubameyang is a very popular member of the squad and as skipper is hugely influential.

    While his popularity is unlikely to have waned over this flashpoint, and he probably garnered some sympathy from certain players, it is understood key members of the Gunners squad believe Arteta made the correct decision in choosing to put the captain on the bench after his misdemeanour.

    One well-placed source said Aubameyang’s late arrival was “unacceptable”.

  • Arsenal legend: Arteta should sell Cedric and Bellerin

    Arsenal legend: Arteta should sell Cedric and Bellerin

    Arsenal legend Tony Adams believes the likes of Cedric Soares and Hector Bellerin should be moved on from the club.

    The Gunners are assessing their squad under Mikel Arteta, and will attempt to make significant changes in the summer.

    Adams believes their current right back options are not good enough, and believes new players are required to make the most of that side of the pitch.

    “If you’re bringing players in who are a lesser standard, you don’t get someone that’s less than what you’ve got,” he told Stadium Astro.

    “Cedric, is he better than Bellerin? Have you made an improvement there? Take it or leave it.

    “Or are you telling me we need two? Get rid of two and get a good one! That would be the opinion that I would have.

    “You always bring in players who are better than the ones that you’ve got or don’t bring them to the club.”

  • Mikel Arteta on shortlist of Barca presidential candidate

    Mikel Arteta on shortlist of Barca presidential candidate

    Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta is eyeing Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

    While Laporta has insisted Ronald Koeman is safe should he win this week’s election, RAC-1 says he has plans to replace the Dutchman should things go south before the end of the season.

    And among the names on his shortlist is Arteta.

    The Gunners manager is a former Barca junior and impressing in his first manager’s job at Arsenal. Significantly, Arteta is close to Manchester City manager and former Barca coach Pep Guardiola.