Former England international, Trevor Sinclair, says Mikel Arteta got away with poor decision making when his team lost 2-1 against Villarreal last night.
The Spanish boss made some interesting selection decisions which allowed Unai Emery’s team to start the game well and race into a 2-0 lead.
Arsenal eventually pulled one goal back from the penalty spot through Nicolas Pepe and that away goal just about keeps them in this tie.
Arteta played Granit Xhaka at left-back even though he knew the midfielder would face Samuel Chukwueze.
He also benched all his strikers and played Emile Smith Rowe as a false nine. These selections were baffling and almost led to an irrecoverable defeat for the Gunners.
Thankfully, Arsenal is still in the tie, but Sinclair says Arteta has to learn and fast because if he doesn’t, he would pay with his job when the Gunners cannot deliver under him.
Sinclair said on Talksport: “I think Arteta got it wrong, and I think he got away with it
“The fact they’re still in this tie for the second leg, they’ve got a great chance [of going through to the final].
“But they need to learn. I thought Unai Emery read the script really well.
“They were poor decisions made by Arteta and I feel he’s been found out by a much more experienced, I’m not saying better, but a much more experienced manager who has got one over him.
“If Arteta doesn’t learn, he’s going to get the sack, it’s as simple as that.”