Every manager gets things wrong once in a while but Mikel Arteta is now being criticised for his selection of Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Carabao Cup final.
Arteta opted to go with Kepa over David Raya after sticking with him through the cup campaign.
However, it backfired when Kepa made yet another Wembley error, allowing Nico O’Reilly to break the deadlock.
Now, Jamie Redknapp has laid into the Arsenal boss.
Arsenal fans, what is the biggest mistake Mikel Arteta made in the Carabao Cup final?
Jamie Redknapp criticises Mikel Arteta for not playing David Raya
There is a lot being made about the selection of Kepa and the reality is there is no real right or wrong answer.
But, Arsenal should have seen Kepa’s form coming and according to Jamie Redknapp, it was not the time to be resting Raya.
“I know people will say it’s sentiment and he played in the earlier rounds, but Kepa is not as good as Raya,” Redknapp commented on Sky.
“That’s why he is number two.” So why, in a major cup final when you’re trying to get across the line and you’ve not won a trophy in so long, do you decide to play him? You have to take responsibility for that. That is a monumental error.
“He’s not a bad goalkeeper – he’s not as good as Raya. It has backfired big time. You could say Trafford isn’t the number one either but he made three really good saves and after that, hardly had to touch the ball. It was easy for him. It’s not me being wise after the event, I said it before the game.”
After the game, Mikel Arteta himself backed his decision and insisted he would do it again if he could.
Nevertheless, this is a bad look for the Gunners boss.
Arsenal had a chance to win a trophy and get the winning feeling among a group of players looking to win four trophies this season.
Instead, Arteta must now pick his troops up off the floor and hope that this doesn’t have any sort of lasting effect.
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