Mikel Arteta has received criticism for taking a conservative approach to Arsenal’s game against Liverpool on Sunday.
The Gunners were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool, courtesy of a stunning late free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai.
Despite impressing in the first half, and more than matching the Merseysiders in general, Arteta and his team have been lamented for not pushing hard enough for a winner or equaliser at any stage during the match.
Much of this frustration stems from his pragmatic team selection, starting both Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli over some more exciting options.
Mikel Arteta was right to be conservative at Anfield
If there’s a place to be more conservative, it’s at Anfield.
Liverpool boasted the best attack in the Premier League last season, while the atmosphere within the historic old ground makes it an intimidating stadium to play in.
Taking a slightly more cautious approach is more than reasonable, particularly when Liverpool are the current champions, have an almost fully fit squad and when you’re without the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and then William Saliba.
However, Arsenal weren’t any more pragmatic than their opponents, with the Gunners managing three times as many shots as Liverpool managed in the first half, while they outshot the home team over the course of the 90 minutes.
They also had almost an equal amount of the ball, with Arteta’s side finishing the match with 47% possession.
Gary Neville concluded that Arsenal were too negative, but in reality, this was a cagey affair from both sides and the pundit allowed one stunning free-kick flying in to inform his entire analysis of the game.
Arsenal’s record in Big Six matches has been outstanding in recent seasons, and thus, their general approach to these matches has been validated time and time again.
Mikel Arteta was right to start Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino vs Liverpool
Gabriel Martinelli was poor on the day, offering very little to the Gunners’ attack. However, the Brazilian and Merino were correctly selected by Arteta to start the match.
Odegaard was evidently not fit enough to start, meaning the Spaniard essentially had to pick between Merino and Ethan Nwaneri.
He opted for the more experienced player who would give him more from set-pieces, more physicality and a lot more from a pressing standpoint. Given the game plan, this was entirely justifiable.
As for Martinelli, his dogged defensive work and understanding of Arsenal’s pressing structure were needed for the Gunners to negate Liverpool and their right-hand side.
That said, with the 24-year-old failing to provide anything offensively, he should have been withdrawn earlier in the match by Arteta.
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