His arrival at Arsenal wasn’t met with anything approaching jubilation. He was no marquee signing. Consistent and efficient on the pitch, and quiet and modest off it, The contrast between Mikel Arteta’s understated entrance and Fabregas’ regal arrival at Camp Nou, could not be starker. But this contrast does not extend to their talents. You have to dig, but Mikel Arteta’s gifts are as extensive as the Barcelona player’s, and a little more surprising.
We all know Arteta is a tidy and resourceful player. He is a consistently efficient distributer who, each season, achieves a pass completion rate of well over 80%. No surprise – he was reared at the Barcelona academy. He has an eye for the killer pass too, setting up 53 goal scoring opportunities for teammates last season and had he been working with a better set of strikers (or any at all, for that matter), his assist count of 5 would undoubtedly be higher.
But Arteta has a far broader set of skills than is reported and these skills meet the criteria set by the media and Arsenal fans alike. It is frequently said that Arsenal lack a talented crosser of the ball. Good news then that Arteta is one of the best crossers around. Last season, he played 171 crosses, with 33% reaching a target. This success rate was the second highest in the league, exceeding the rates of players who are regularly described as top crossers, such as Stewart Downing and Ashley Young and Nani. Obviously at Arsenal he will be operating more centrally, but this accuracy could help to improve Arsenal’s infamously poor offensive set-pieces.
With Fabregas and Nasri gone, a legitimate complaint can be made regarding Arsenal’s lack of ‘big game players’. Well, during his spell at Everton (which severely limited his exposure to the auspicious occasion), Arteta has scored against Manchester United, Liverpool, Fiorentina and in a Champion’s League qualifier away at Villareal. He has scored in Old Firm games while at Rangers, and scored at the Mestella during a brief period at Real Sociedad. One can conclude from this that he is not a player who scares easy.
widespread thirst for a midfield bruiser who’ll toughen the team may not be quenched by Arteta’s arrival, but, contrary to popular belief, he is not shy in the tackle. During his 6 full seasons at Everton, he picked up 33 yellow cards and 3 reds. And last season he made 45 interceptions and 137 tackles in the Premier League alone. Were Arteta English, his evident steel would surely be more widely noted.
It is said that the scream of “Shoot!” omitted from the Emirates every week is the only audible noise from space. Astronauts, remove your ear plugs: Last season Arteta took aim 53 times and 79% of these shots were bound for goal. In fact, he has a higher goal-bound shot percentage than players such as Meireles, Adam, Modric, Lampard, Scholes, Wilshere, and perhaps most poignantly, Fabregas. Additionally, 10 of Arteta’s 28 Premier League goals for Everton came from outside the box.
His debut against Swansea was assured and positive. He controlled the midfield, making 71 successful passes (more than Fabregas made during any home game against a promoted side last season). The majority of his passes went forwards, were made in the Swansea half and 3 of them played a teammate into the opposition penalty area. His return to the Champions League after an 8 year hiatus was less spectacular, as Arsenal stuttered to a draw in Dortmund, but he acquitted himself well in a notoriously intimidating stadium and one senses there is more to come.
Unlike his predecessor, he isn’t a footballing superstar, but Arteta ticks all the boxes. His willingness to shoot, and his crossing ability (combined with mount Mertesacker’s areal threat), should help to create a more multi-dimensional Arsenal. He will add the creative spark that was doused by the Cesc and Nasri departures and the influence of his comparative experience could prove immeasurably important.
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