Martin Keown has claimed that Mikel Arteta was ruthless in substituting both Albert Sambi Lokonga and Rob Holding shortly after making mistakes in the PSV v Arsenal clash last night.
The Gunners were on the losing end for only the second time in all competitions last night, with the Dutch giants claiming the 2-0 victory, leaving the door open for us to lose out on top spot in our Europa League group.
While it certainly wasn’t our best showing, with VAR having already come to our rescue twice in the first-half before seeing us concede twice in the second, we still have plenty to be positive about as we remain top of both the Premier League and Group A of the EL.
Last night was not our best performance however, and Martin Keown has pointed blame at Lokonga and Holding for costly mistakes, claiming that the manager quickly removed them shortly after also.
“Looking at Rob Holding there [for the first goal], you’ve got to stay goal-side,” Keown told BT Sport’s coverage (via the Metro). “A big man has come on [De Jong], so Holding’s got to come across.
“Lokonga could do more with the initial ball and then he just switches off. He’s got to be breaking every sinew in his body to get back there and get a block in but he doesn’t.
“Arteta was pretty ruthless because both players were hooked soon after. It’s a tough school there.”
Neither of Lokonga or Holding is likely to be in action on the weekend, but I’m not sure they were solely to blame for yesterday’s defeat. I just hope that there is no fallout in the squad ahead of Sunday where we will take on Nottingham Forest as we look to return to winning ways, having also failed to beat Southampton last weekend.
The reaction to bad results will tell us whether this team really is the real deal, and one which deserves to be considered as a real title challenger to Manchester City, who will no doubt be tough to stop from winning a third straight league title.
Could our game at the weekend now be a pivotal moment in our season?
Patrick
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