Mikel Arteta cannot repeat the Bukayo Saka mistake he made vs Man United, Arsenal fans were furious

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Arsenal fans are furious at Mikel Arteta for moving Bukayo Saka to left wing in order to accommodate Noni Madueke against Manchester United.

It was a bitterly frustrating afternoon for Arsenal, who suffered a first Premier League defeat since December 6 against the Red Devils.

Are Mikel Arteta’s tactics negatively impacting Bukayo Saka?

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Manchester City have now cut the gap at the top of the Premier League back down to four points following their win over Wolves.

The Gunners’ supporters were fuming at the performance at the Emirates Stadium and have questioned one of Arteta’s big tactical calls.

Arsenal fans fume at Mikel Arteta for moving Bukayo Saka to left wing

Arsenal fans could not believe that Mikel Arteta opted to switch Bukayo Saka to left wing to bring on Noni Madueke on the right.

Saka has been struggling recently and was not good against United, but moving him across to the left was always going to be a bad decision.

Supporters cannot understand why the Spanish manager would not just bring on a natural left winger, with Gabriel Martinelli sitting on the bench.

Arteta made the bold call to sub on four players at once, as he brought on Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Ben White and Jurrien Timber after 58 minutes.

Madueke was later introduced after 75 minutes, replacing Leandro Trossard and Saka, switching flanks to accommodate the move.

After the match, fans took to social media to slam the manager’s strange tactical tweak and never want to see Saka played there again.

One fan said: “Arteta moving Saka to left wing for Madueke is just horrendous decision-making. He is very much at fault for many of these recent subpar performances.”

“Moving Saka to the left wing, while Noni messes up basic actions. Hilarious in-game management again,” added another.

A third fan claimed: “The subs were odd. Saka to left wing and Timber to left back rather than Martinelli and Lewis-Skelly, actual left-sided players. It completely killed the left side.”

There was yet more frustration aimed at the switch: “But shifting Saka from right wing to left wing is crazy. Why not bring Martinelli instead of Madueke?”

Finally, another fan claimed: “I hope anyone who was asking to see Saka left wing watched today. Got completely taken out of the game, and he couldn’t dribble at all.”

Gary Neville bemused by Mikel Arteta’s substitution

Gary Neville was also left bemused by one Arteta substitution after he left Myles Lewis-Skelly on the bench.

The former Manchester United defender believes that the youngster would have offered more going forward from full-back than either Jurrien Timber or Ben White.

“I can’t believe that isn’t Myles Lewis-Skelly, I guess Mikel Arteta knows his players better than I do, but if you want to go forwards,” Neville said on Sky Sports.