I am very surprised that no one suggested that Mohamed Elneny was not the obvious choice to play in midfield against Brighton on Saturday after Thomas Partey as ruled out through injury. Arteta refused to let the Egyptian midfielder leave in the summer as he was needed as backup to Xhaka and Partey, so once it was decided that Xhaka would be covering for Tierney surely the vastly experienced Egyptian should have been a shoe-in.
The 30 year-old has not had many games for Arsenal this season, only featuring in 7 games in total, but he played every game for his country at the AFCON where Egypt lost in the final on penalties, and he played in all their games in the recent international break, so he was definitely fit and ready to do his job.
Instead, Arteta chose to go with with the much less experienced and out of form Lokonga, perhaps hoping that ESR, Martinelli, Saka, Lacazette and Odegaard would be able to score enough for his performance to not be too important, but that plan obviously back-fired as we only got one real breakthrough right at the end of the game.
I am sure that Arteta should have found a different solution to the left back problem before the game, with either Holding or Tavares making up the numbers, and then the back line would have had Xhaka and Elneny in front of them to help stop the onslaught on the defence.
We have many more defenders to choose from than midfielders, so leaving the middle of the pitch totally exposed seemed like a very irrational idea in my book.
What do you think?
Darren N.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Video – Mikel Arteta post-Brighton “It’s time to criticise ourselves”
It makes sense that there was no sense in the decision making.
For me it is now obvious the midfield, left back, right back and central striker needs changing with Tierney, Partey, Tomiyasu all out, Sambi, Tavares and Cedric not being up to the job, something needs to change and quick. This how I would go against Soton if Tomiyasu is fit.
Ramsdale
White Holding Gabriel
Tomiyasu Odegaard Xhaka ESR Saka
Pepe Martinelli
Leno Cedric Rekik Tavares Elneny Sambi Lacazette Nketiah Hutchinson
To prepare for the next season, it’s better to give more playing time to the players who still have future at the club like Lokonga
And maybe Lokonga has a clause in his contract as a new player, that enforces Arsenal to play him in a certain number of games in his first season
Lacazette is the exception, because he is still our best CF
Gai, If Lokonga must play then Elneny is a better DM to pair with Lokonga. In the game against Brighton ESR didn’t bring too much on the table. Odegard could occupied that space. Elneny was the Egypt major midfield pivot during Africans nations cup. That’s why if a team fails everything rises and falls on the coach decision. If Arteta doesn’t get his team selection well for the last 8 games I bet Top6 won’t come easy. Relegation threaten teams are fighting hard now so we must opt our performance.
Gai, If Lokonga must play then Elneny is a better DM to pair with Lokonga. In the game against Brighton ESR didn’t bring too much on the table. Odegard could occupied that space. Elneny was the Egypt major midfield pivot during Africans nations cup. That’s why if a team fails everything rises and falls on the coach decision. If Arteta doesn’t get his team selection well for the last 8 games I bet Top6 won’t come easy. Relegation threaten teams are fighting hard now so we must opt our performance. Lacazette is getting tired may be Nkethiah should be given morw minutes.
We’ve been playing 4-3-3 with only one CDM, so we’ve got to choose between Elneny or Lokonga. I don’t think they can play in a more advanced position as Xhaka does
We lost two of our best midfielders in that game, the best to injury and second best to insanity of the coach to withdraw him to LB
Team selection is poor xhaxa should never be back there to slow and not a good tackler . White holding Gabriel and soares left back. Then bring tomiyasu when fit.play enemy bringing lokonga on if we are doing well to settle him in.try some different people up front at half time if we need goals.arsenal for the last few years are always 2 or 3 plays short of competing even for top 4.should have another midfielder and striker poor planing again.cant see us getting 4th.need it to push on and attract the players needed.
Sometimes I wonder if Arteta has a brain.
Team selection is poor xhaxa should never be back there to slow and not a good tackler . White holding Gabriel and soares left back. Then bring tomiyasu when fit.play enemy bringing lokonga on if we are doing well to settle him in.try some different people up front at half time if we need goals.arsenal for the last few years are always 2 or 3 plays short of competing even for top 4.should have another midfielder and striker poor planing again.cant see us getting 4th.need it to push on and attract the players needed.
we would still have lost, the biggest problem at Arsenal is Arteta himself, he will never improve this team as demonstrated by the results he has delivered so far.
I don’t even understand this Xhaka left back conundrum.. Someone who isn’t exceptional in his own preferred position how can he be better in someone’s else own?
I keep asking the question, If u are excusing xhaka’s flaws at left back cos he isn’t a natural left back.. and avoid playing the one who is natural at the role cos he makes similar errors… I mean what’s the difference to begin with.. Are they not both making costly errors?
With the loss of Tierney, why didn’t he revert to 3 at the back where Tavares would have been more efficient going forward than defending.. or even play Bukayo Saka there.
We played against a team that keeps the ball well and has the screening presence and ball winning abilities of Bissouma and co.. yet the manager still find the need to make us weaker in midfield than we already were. Everything just makes no sense, and to think that we have a week or even more to prepare for games and still come up with such performances at home is simply beyond me.
Am not going to start critisizing the manager but he should put his arts together, cos at the moment I just don’t see us winning any of our away matches especially without the presence of Partey and the presence of an absent Lacazette
I don’t know why arteta didn’t play Elneny in our lost against Brighton…play Xhaka n Elneny infront of d back 4 n holding in d left back.bring out laca n bring in ntekia.. arteta is playing with our top 4 hope…. hope we get back to wining way against Southampton
Nketiah is worse , offers nothing, Lacazette offers no goals but supports well,
At worse we should move Gabriel to left back and have white and holding in central defense,
We can have xhaka and Elneny in midfield,
i am a big supporter of MA of what he has shown and done this season but it felt like he went 2 steps backwards for the Brighton Game.
to play Xhaka LB was a total heads gone.
NT had a really poor game against palace but this was an ideal time to stick back in so a really poor decision by MA considering we had no LB.
whilst i do not rate Xhaka and never have , i do think with losing Party in the middle we needed him to step back in to the midfield.
we showed no fight desire and commitment on Saturday and it was totally unacceptable and frustrating to watch by the team and manager to not even show up when there was so much at stake to play for.
we have now lost being able to control our own destiny for the top 4 race, which by the way i still think we will make it for anyone who thinks i have lost faith but we need to step it up.
maybe being favourites was to much to ask of this team to shoulder and being underdogs relieves the pressure. it doesn’t help our nerves as fans but when have we ever done it the easy way
The Southampton game cant come soon enough so we can blow these cobwebs off us and get back to business… squeaky bum time i think ..
onwards and upwards
Like someone said, it’s sad that it’s a team like Arsenal arteta is using for experiment. He’s learning all his trade here by making all the mistakes he would avoid in the nearest future.
I still remember last year when he pushed partey back on the field while be injured.
Tomi was rushed back to feature as well and look what happened after that.
Not to talk of other issues with players and all.
There won’t be any surprise if he later change his way of coaching.
Arsenal has been used as the lab already for him.
My suggestion was to play the same team that played against Crystal Palace, with Eleney in for Partey.
Lokanga didn’t do his self injustice, it was generally a poor team effort.
The team seems to lock motivation, surprisingly we were the one that had something to play for, its becoming a customary way of we playing now after a break
Arteta doesn’t rate elneny and pepe for reasons best known to him.
I think NT has also earned himself a place in arteta’s bad book.
These guys will never enjoy playing for arsenal as long as the apprentice is still in charge.
“What do I think”!
I think that dross players like Elneny should never have been within a million miles of AFC.
But for WENGER HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN!
How many games have Elneny played and you lost? The good thing is that whether you like Elneny or not, whether you play him or not, he’s smiling to the bank every week.
If Wenger was wrong to recruit Elneny, why has your genius Arteta not let him go?
It is very true is so obvious now to see that Arteta does not like Mo Elneny. He should have let him go. He undermines the national midfield player who is a runner -up for AFCON final and field a player who is incapable. Mo is even better that Xaka who cost us many loses due to his red cards, Arsenal would have been in a better position if it was not Xaka actually.
Unfortunately, AFC will not reach the heights of early 2000s unless the owners change. If you have a football club and the owners first priority is not winning then there is a huge problem. What’s worse is that I have a feeling that Arteta has already been given a contract extension. As long as he saves KSE money they will keep him. Arteta’s arrogance and how he treated Guendouzi, Auba, Saliba, Pepe and AMN shows an egotistical side that has done nothing but ruin players confidence. Auba is now scoring goals for fun at Barca and has scored 10 while Arsenal’s entire team has scored 12 since he left.
443 with Xhaka at the left back and both Martin and ESR as no.8 were all mistakes.
You needed Xhaka in midfield, with Sambi on his side. Unfortunately, Elneny is a little similar to Xhaka, playing them together may not be the best combination.
The left back problem is that Nuno seems less ready than when he came somehow. Best man for the position in my opinion was Saka.
ESR on the left wing as usual, Martin in the number 10, and Gabi/Pepe on the right wing.
Whoever left out from the squad can come from Bench: Eddie, Pepe, Nuno, ElNeny, and Holding.
Also imo, Cedric is not good defensively, with no Partey, inexperienced/out of position left back, you need two DCM rather poor Sambi alone who had to fill a big gap without proper help from midfielders and wingers. Our midfielders and wingers are two young/novice tactically/physically/definsively to ask them to suddenly have defensive roles/tasks. And it appeared in games before.
Other solutions than two DCM, was to play a defensive fullback but Tomi seems out of form since he returned from injury, so may be White was his best option with holding on the lineup.
I gave too many opinions that may have not worked or would they? But whatever was in MA’s head was obviously not working in the first half but MA waited till min 62 for his first change when he subbed ESR for Eddie. The change which made him lose the midfield battle on defensive side even more. And sure enough, Arsenal received the 2nd goal in 66th min.
Shambolic if I am being honest, Brighton was on a poor run. Arsenal gave them a boost.
Has to be 3 at the back and 2 up front….
Ramsdale
Tomi. Holding. Gabby
Esr. White. Xakai. Saka
Odegarrd
Pepe. Martinelle
Well, just to be different.
I would have played Leno in goal!! I think Ramsdale has started started making mistakes.
My back 4 would have been,
White, Holding Gabriel, Soares
Midfield of Xhaka, Lokonga and Odegaard
A front three of
ESR, Martinelli, Saka (Martinelli up the middle)
But what do I know?
I think the entire team has looked jaded in the last two matches
What really worries me is:-
If we don’t get our mojo back against Southampton, I think we might be forced to shop in Woolworths again this summer!!
This is actually one of the more interesting and sensible options I have seen and it could have worked.
Although I think Laca had to play. It would have been difficult for Arteta to bench his captain at this stage of the season.
Oh! Mr. Poster you have suddenly grown some balls to challenge arteta’s decision? When Arteta was busy destroying our club, fighting our best players and forcing them out of the club you guys were applauding him. He’s sending a massage to the dressing room, he’s stamping his authority, he’s doing what Wenger didn’t do, he’s Godsent, he’s arsenal’s messiah, he’s this, he’s that.
I hope you guys have seen what Unai Emery just did to Bayern and what Aubameyang, Guendouzi, etc are doing at their respective clubs.
You guys have not seen anything yet. By the time you finish in mid table your eyes will clear….
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣