Arsenal suffered their second defeat of the season against Newcastle United on a disappointing day at St James’ Park.
It’s now three games without a win in the Premier League for the Gunners, who are drifting away from the title race.
A first half goal from Alexander Isak settled the scoreline on match day 10, seeing Arsenal unable to find their way into the battle at St James’ Park.
The result leaves Mikel Arteta’s side at risk of being frozen out of the title race early into the campaign, as Liverpool and Manchester City grow in strength.
Arsenal vs Newcastle United: Mikel Arteta got it wrong
Arteta will be deeply disappointed by what he saw on the pitch against Newcastle however, the manager must take some of the blame.
It was clear that things weren’t working out in the first half, but that didn’t prompt the boss to make changes.
Arsenal were not only crying out for substitutions, but for a change in game plan too, something that Arteta did not make happen during the interval or on the touchline.
Losing to Newcastle follows on from the Gunners’ defeat to Bournemouth and draw against Liverpool, three games where the Spaniard could be criticised for failing to alter his game plan.
Paul Merson was right about ‘stubborn’ Arteta
Arteta was stubborn against Newcastle both tactically and with his lineup, as the boss failed to grasp the fact that his initial game plan was not working.
Being stubborn is something that the Arsenal manager has been accused of before, with pundit Don Hutchison accusing Arteta of possessing an inability to accept when something is not working.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live in 2023, the former Liverpool midfielder took aim at Arteta’s approach with the then out of form Kai Havertz.
“What’s happened is that it’s a manager being stubborn and it’s a manager that has spent a lot of money on Kai Havertz, so he is trying to shoe-horn him into the side because he has bought him.”
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Arteta might have been right in that instance however, further down the line, the boss was unable to escape concern over his stubbornness.
In January 2024, Arsenal icon Paul Merson called the Spaniard ‘stubborn’ for his approach in the transfer window, via his SportsKeeda column.
“Arteta’s current situation at Arsenal reminds me of the latter part of Arsene Wenger’s stint. Everyone knew at the time that Wenger needed a central defender, but he was a bit stubborn and refused to dip into the transfer market.”
Arteta’s stubbornness has been picked on for an array of reasons, with the boss’ trait not shifting as time goes on.
Arsenal’s performance against Newcastle embodied that of a team with a manager desperate to make plan A work, something the coach must now address.
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