Mikel Arteta did something that really shocked Ian Wright during Arsenal’s draw against Manchester City.
For the second time this week, Arsenal’s substitutes came to Arteta’s rescue, with Gabriel Martinelli being the man of the moment once again.
It was the Brazilian who changed the game against Athletic Club in the Champions League, and against Man City, the winger had a similar impact.
Eberechi Eze and Martinelli earned high praise for combining to craft Arsenal’s 93rd-minute equaliser, but Ian Wright admitted he was stunned to not see the duo start the game.
Ian Wright was surprised by Mikel Arteta’s team selection vs Man City
Arteta subbed Noni Madueke off at half-time as well as Mikel Merino, bringing on Eze and Bukayo Saka in a bid to change the direction of the contest.
It certainly worked, even more so when Martinelli was introduced in the 80th minute, but that didn’t change Wright’s opinion that the pair should have been named in the starting XI.
“I was very surprised to not see Martinelli get a start today,” Wright said to Premier League Productions.
“Same with Eze, I thought we needed creativity, especially when we see City playing the way they are.”
Speaking in reaction to the game, the Arsenal legend was firm when expressing his disappointment with how the Gunners started the game, questioning Arteta’s selection.
“We have to take that and move on, but I was disappointed to see the first-half performance. I thought the personnel weren’t right in regard to what we needed to do to break them open.”
It’s not the first time that Arteta’s team selection has been criticised, as the Arsenal manager was slammed for his conservative squad choice when the Gunners lost to Liverpool.
Arteta’s midfield experiment must end
A conservative approach in midfield is not how Arteta would see his decision to hand Merino the number ten role, given that the Spaniard is a goalscorer.
That being said, Arsenal have been missing dynamism in central areas, which massively impacts how the team operate in transition.
It didn’t take long to see how Eze being introduced to the midfield changed the game, with the decisive moment coming in injury time when the playmaker lifted the ball into Martinelli’s path.
The Brazilian had a lot of work to do to finish the chance, but Eze’s moment of magic gave the boss an idea of what his midfield has been missing.
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