Pep Guardiola’s influence on Mikel Arteta’s career might’ve gone a little too far for Arsenal fans’ liking.
Against Wolves, Arsenal were absolutely woeful but still managed to get three points courtesy of two own goals.
It was a horrendous performance, one that did not warrant a win, with the main complaint being how stagnant the Gunners were in attack.
Having the star names he does in his squad doesn’t seem to be enough for Arteta at present, as even Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard are failing to create.
There’s something very lacklustre about Arsenal’s attack, and Liverpool icon Steve Nicol seems to think he knows why.
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Steve Nicol says some Arsenal players are overcoached
Nicol was one to react to Arsenal’s win over Wolves, being a pundit on ESPN FC.
It’s fair to say that Nicol, like many Arsenal fans, was horrified by what he saw from the Gunners going forward against Rob Edwards’ 20th-placed side.
“Just a complete and utter lack of flair,” Nicol said, before sharing what he thinks is causing a lack of excitement.
“At the end of the day, there are far too many players today who are just overcoached,” he explained.
“Coaches as good as Pep, you’ve got Arteta doing the same thing, Maresca not so much with Chelsea, but there’s so much coaching going on, there’s no flair. Nobody has any idea, nobody can take responsibility.”
Tell us one player who benefits from Mikel Arteta’s coaching and one who doesn’t.
Nicol noted how Arteta and Guardiola are similar in how rigidly they coach their squads, which can, at times, limit how much freedom attacking players can enjoy.
“They’re scared to throw the ball in the box after 30 minutes when it’s 0-0 because they’re going to get into trouble,” the pundit elaborated.
“‘Oh, we don’t do that, we keep the ball, we’re patient’, you’re playing against a team who, regardless, aren’t going anywhere.”
Nicol thinks Arsenal’s tactical stiffness cost them a free-flowing performance against Wolves, something that can be credited to how the Arsenal manager has learned from Guardiola.
Pep Guardiola’s influence on Mikel Arteta might’ve contributed to overcoaching
Guardiola is the best manager in world football, and there’s a reason for it.
The Spaniard will never, under any circumstances, allow his tactical demands to be jeopardised.
Just look at how Guardiola reacted to Rayan Cherki’s remarkable rabona assist against Sunderland.
The Manchester City manager’s argument was that playing with flair is fine when effective, but called for ‘simplicity’ due to the lower risk of mistakes.
Having learned his craft from Guardiola at Man City, it’s no surprise that there are traces of Arteta’s attack playing without risk.
If it wins games, there should be no complaints, but in instances such as what we saw against Wolves, the lack of risk almost resulted in a draw against the team at the bottom of the table.
Perhaps some fluidity is needed, but putting suggestions to tactical enforcers such as Guardiola and Arteta feels rather pointless.
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