Troy Deeney says Mikel Arteta has done something ‘childish’ at Arsenal, some players must be fuming

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Mikel Arteta has changed a lot at Arsenal since taking charge of the club.

The Spaniard was chosen as Unai Emery’s replacement in December 2019, and he inherited a squad that is incomparable to what he has at his disposal now.

Arteta didn’t just have to change his personnel over the years, but also the culture within the squad and the club in general.

The Arsenal manager has completely transformed the Gunners as a result, but what he said recently has not gone down well with Troy Deeney.

Troy Deeney blasts Mikel Arteta after what he said about Arsenal’s substitutes

For the first time since taking charge of Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has elite squad depth.

The Gunners have two top-class players in every position on the pitch, and they are now well-equipped to go all the way in every competition.

The problem with having a big squad, however, is that he cannot keep every player happy because only 11 can start in a game.

To keep the substitutes motivated, Arteta began calling them ‘finishers’, and the two players he brought on against Athletic Club – Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli – delivered.

Arteta called them ‘finishers’ again after the game, which is something Arsenal fans have no problem with. Deeney, however, is not happy and thinks some of the players will be furious with their manager.

He wrote in The Sun: “Should we be calling substitutes “finishers”, like Mikel Arteta is now campaigning for at Arsenal? We’re at a stage in football now – and it’s not just Gunners boss Arteta – where managers are trying to invent new terms when what we have is just fine.

“You’re not a sub, you’re a finisher. What?

“Is it to make it more palatable or soften the blow for players who are not getting a look-in? There’s no other word for it: Childish.

“The problem I have with it is with players who aren’t one of the three, four or five “finishers” brought on. What are you calling them?

“An unused player will be thinking: “He says I’m a finisher, but I’m not being used as one. That would leave me feeling confused and p—– off.””

Is Troy Deeney right about Mikel Arteta?

Deeney is making a good name for himself in the media world with his bold opinions, but some of them are completely unnecessary – just like his comments above about Arsenal boss Arteta.

The Spaniard decided to call a team he built something to get the best out of them – it has nothing to do with Deeney and isn’t negatively affecting anyone.

Yet, the former Watford man feels the need to make an issue out of it, which is just not needed.

This is not the first time Arteta has been criticised for being inventive, either. Almost everything he has done at Arsenal has attracted criticism just because it’s not something that everyone else does.

The good thing is that everyone in the Arsenal first-team squad is behind Arteta, and the ‘finishers’ that came on against Athletic Club won him the game.

What Deeney thinks about Arteta’s terminology just does not matter.