Arsenal were eliminated from the Europa League at the semi-final stage after failing to overcome Villarreal, and the manager has given his reasoning for their disappointing performance.
Mikel Arteta explains that his side weren’t clinical enough in the final third, and blames him being forced to replace Granit Xhaka in the warm-up as reasoning why they were not good enough early into the second-leg.
Arteta blames our lacklustre first-half and Xhaka's absence as reasons for his side's exit 👀👀👀
Does the Arsenal boss appear under pressure to make the right excuses? 🔴⚪️🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/J3ITKl6xKQ
— Just Arsenal News (@JustArsenal) May 7, 2021
Reality is we were shocking in both first-halves against Villarreal, and that simply isn’t good enough at this stage of the competition, and the manager has to take some responsibility for that.
Patrick
Arteta is words, words, words. Words fool nobody. Outcomes are his job and he is not good at it.
I refrained from commenting yesterday as I was concerned what I just might say considering the state I was in following that piss-poor, predictable performance…then I read the following, which was Arteta’s assessment of the match, and my head nearly exploded:
We tried everything until the last minute. I think we deserved to win the game but the details define these ties…On losing midfielder Granit Xhaka during the warm up, the Spaniard said: “It changed our plan completely. “We prepared everything with Granit in that position. In the first half we struggled with the ball but it’s not an excuse.
One word = delusional
Can you even imagine being a professional manager in charge of a team with the likes of Auba, Saka, Martinelli, ESR and Partey, and you knew you needed to score at least once to advance to the EL finals, yet you had the unmitigated gall to even publicly suggest that our entire game-plan revolved around a mediocre player who was actually playing out of position, quite poorly I might add, who’s known for his uncanny ability to stifle all things direct attack-related, with his sideways passing, and who likewise plays 85% of the game within 8 yards of the mid-field stripe…then the King Daddy Topper came when, immediately following this absolutely mindboggling statement, he added “but it’s not an excuse”…these statements make it abundantly clear that this individual is not ready to be the leader of men, let alone be given the keys to the kingdom…Please Mikel, enough with managerial psychobabble
Well, to blame the fact that our greatest ever left back missing was the reason for our poor start, is astounding and shocking. What a plonker, we started with our best left back in Tierney, who did ok considering he isn’t as good as xhaka, Eh Arteta!
Reggie, I didn’t see Ashley Cole out there, but then again, I didn’t see very much of anything to be perfectly honest!!!
What sort of a statement from Arteta is that?
Unless he goes mid table mediocrity is what we’ll get.
Our squad is much better than his performances suggest
I thought he was a good choice.
Not worked out.
Don’t give him a summer transfer window please.
MA can’t do it! The first half is on you. Wasted season for us while you complete your apprenticeship. Any big club has to do the right thing. Arsenal, with the correct manager a decent right back, two competent, mobile, midfielders could do better than you. Your decisions over the season have not been positive. And you are left with a team unable to score bar Auba, Pepe, Laca. Then we come to transfers and loans: Willian, Keepers Martinez and the Icelandic one. Leno is slow decision wise. AMN should have been kept. You kept Nelson who did well last season and wasted him this one over Willian who is a has been. Terminate his contract!
Odegaard since his injury offered nothing and you persisted with him.
And Auba nearly got you out of jail again and then you take him off!
Admit it you are out of your depth and need to learn humility in your next job.