Good morning gooners; happy holidays from gooners here in Nigeria. How prepared are we for our Saturday game against Everton? Our game against Everton may be unique in the sense that both teams may play that game with new managers.
While we await the official announcement from Arsenal on who will be our next manager, can we take a guess on which players will make Arteta’s team, assuming he was to be appointed coach? Let’s go…
Mikel Arteta, judging by where he is currently working, would be out to play sweet, fast-paced attacking football. He has been an understudy to Pep Guardiola for the last 3 years. Pep is known for playing possession-based attacking football, while scoring many goals in the process. He also likes playing from the back and not to forget, he likes goalkeepers who are comfortable playing with their feet. So, knowing Arteta’s background will help us guess the players who will fit into his style.
Unless something drastic happens, I don’t see Arteta not making use of our current first choice goalie, Leno. Bernd Leno is not only comfortable playing with his feet; he is equally good at ball distribution. He is also good at saving balls. To me, he is a sure bet to start.
For the defence, I see Sokratis Papastathopoulos dropping to the bench. The centre defenders would be David Luiz and Rob Holdings, in my opinion. Luiz is good at passing the ball from the back, while Holdings does the tackling. For the wing backs, I see him retaining Kolasinac, until Tierney gets back. Bellerin, if fit, will cement the right wing back role.
I am sorry to say this but for the midfield, I see him playing a three-man midfield. Based on current form, I see him using Guendouzi and Xhaka as defensive midfielders; while Ceballos occupies the attacking midfield position. Ozil and Torreira may find themselves playing less under Arteta.
For Arteta’s style of attacking football, I think Aubameyang will lead the line, with Pepe and Martinelli supporting him from the wings.
So, there is my team under Arteta, that is if he is appointed as the coach of Arsenal. What do you think?
Sylvester Kwentua