You are repeating Emery’s mistakes – Arteta warned
Football
By
Mirror
| Oct 26, 2020
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has told Mikel Arteta that he is changing formations too often - and is in danger of making the same errors as Unai Emery.
The Gunners were disappointing on Sunday in their 1-0 home defeat to Leicester City, which was their second consecutive loss in the Premier League after they were beaten by Manchester City last weekend.
Arteta has generally impressed at the Emirates since taking over from Emery, who was sacked last November following a series of poor results.
But speaking to Stadium Astro, Keown stated his concern that the Spaniard is tinkering too much, and should settle on a preferred system.
"They keep changing from one system to another and they did this with Emery," Keown said.
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"That’s what I would like to see now, the same pictures, the same triangles, the same movements, the same partnerships, the same relationships."
"If you keep changing it, you don’t find a rhythm, and that’s something that I found in a very successful team.
"It was like putting an old pair of slippers on for a game. Everything was there. You’d fire it into midfield to Patrick Vieira, into Dennis Bergkamp, [Thierry] Henry into the channel; it was three passes.
"These players now are getting the ball now and it’s jamming a little bit, so I think keep it simple and start building from this team. If this is the way he wants to play, keep with it, and try to put the people in it and get the messages right and work on it.
"It was very static, the front three never really moved from positions, they didn’t make themselves available."
Despite their recent poor form, Keown is still convinced Arteta is the right man to take Arsenal forward, but thinks the way he reacts to the latest setbacks is crucial.
"This is a brand new project for the manager," he added. "We don’t want to be over critical.
"I believe he’s the right man for the job 100 per cent, super bright manager and he’s going to have setbacks, it’s how he responds to this now."