Awful substitutions are costing us the game! by Shenel
Arteta was quoted after the Spurs game as saying “I’m sure we will get there… I am proud because I have never seen them play like the way they have done today in this ground. That’s really positive” – but seeing positives won’t get us the 3 points, seeing positives won’t win us trophies and seeing positives definitely won’t attract key players to our club. They have to turn those positives into results, but if you pull the team apart and exchange the wrong players at the wrong times, then you definitely won’t achieve anything!
I really do like Arteta, as a player and captain I loved him. He went to Manchester City to become assistant to Pep and I had no issue with that, but what does bother me is his clear lack of tactics and a sense of misreading the game at wrong times with regards to the substitutions he makes. If they are forced, then he has no choice but recently they haven’t been forced.
I’m not really a big fan of Pepe, he has a lot more work to do to impress me and I know he needs time but seeing as he wasn’t out injured for the last game, why did Arteta take him off in a big game that needed a goal or two to get the three points. Despite him losing the ball quite a bit against Spurs, I felt we were stronger with him in the team. I fail to see how any of Arteta’s substitutions of late have actually worked in our favour! Barring the Lacazette one against Wolves being one positive change, the Nketiah one against Leicester clearly wasn’t!
Back in the Arsene Wenger days fans used to moan he never made substitutions until around the 80-minute mark if that. Fast forward to the Arteta era and even though he has 5 substitutions at his disposal, he doesn’t necessarily have to make them if they won’t impact us and will be our downfall! The substitutions he has been making – barring a few – are changing the game negatively for us, and I don’t see how they can get any better!
For me, Ceballos kept losing the ball in key moments against Spurs, and I felt he should have come off for Torreira, who would have given us a chance to move forward and maybe even create a few chances. We lacked creativity in the second half and just couldn’t find the back of the net. Regardless of the issues Arteta or the club has with Ozil, would having a World Cup winner and assist maker/goal-getter on the bench really be a bad option? Let’s put it this way, it can’t be any worse than some of the players he has on the bench and uses anyway!
Gooners what do you make of Arteta’s tactics when it comes to substitutions?
Shenel Osman
