Arsenal were beaten by Southampton to go out of the FA Cup and now Micah Richards has lamented what he saw from the Gunners.
A 2-1 win for the in-form Saints put an end to Arsenal’s domestic cup hopes and means they’ve now lost two games on the spin for the first time all season.
It was a changed team for Arsenal as Arteta left some big hitters on the bench and according to the BBC’s Richards, that and the players’ attitude cost them.
Who should start next to William Saliba if Gabriel Magalhaes is ruled out of Arsenal vs Sporting CP
Micah Richards questions Arsenal’s attitude after FA Cup loss
There was so much noise around the EFL Cup final when Mikel Arteta opted to play Kepa over David Raya and he went with the same selection at Southampton.
However, according to Richards, Arsenal just have to play their best team, while he also called into question the team’s attitude.
“There is going to be so much noise around it. With Arsenal against Man City you can get beat in a final. Tonight you asked me if I would play [David] Raya. I don’t think it was anything to do with him in terms of them losing, but you have to play your best team,” Richards said live on air.
“It was only a couple of weeks ago people were saying Arsenal could do the quadruple, Now they are in two competitions. Man City, after what they did earlier on, look like they are going to push them all the way for the league and the Champions League – anyone can win that.
“The most disappointing thing for me was watching them and their attitude. They have been excellent defensively, in transitions they have been very good, the shape has been good and the effort has been as good as anyone. For them to turn up the way they did today, I thought was very poor.”
Arsenal’s second string prove they aren’t quite up to scratch
There was a big chance for a number of Arsenal players to really show themselves tonight and prove to Mikel Arteta they can be relied upon.
Unfortunately, a lot of those players didn’t deliver.
Ben White was poor at right-back, while both Christian Mosquera and Christian Norgaard in front of him struggled as well.
Further forward, Gabi Martinelli looked isolated all game, while up top, Gabriel Jesus looked like a player low on form and confidence.
This has shown Arteta that from now on, it’s best team available every week. If not, Arsenal risk throwing it all away and ruining what should have been a memorable season.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
