With Arsenal’s senior players letting Mikel Arteta down, time and time again this season, I believe it’s time the Spaniard gave more opportunities to the young players.
Burnley, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa at home are just a few of the examples of how bad the senior stars have been performing in the Premier League. Yet Arteta seems hell-bent on giving the same flops more and more game time.
The prime example? Willian, who has had just one shot on target across his 11 top division outings this campaign. Has that stopped Arteta from starting him? Absolutely not with the Brazilian having started seven of the last eight league games.
Should Arsenal sack Arteta?
Yes
No
Meanwhile, the lack of goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette is a worrying sign about the lack of effort from the two star forwards.
Compare that to the impact some of the younger players have made during their various appearances this season. Bukayo Saka has been the shining light in what has been an otherwise dismal campaign in the top-flight. The likes of Joe Willock and Folarin Balogun have impressed in the Europa League, scoring three and two goals respectively.
Then there’s the desire to play the likes of Hector Bellerin on the right side of defence. What’s the point? When you have the incredibly versatile and quicker defender in Ainsley Maitland-Niles warming the bench. These thoughts have been echoed by Tony Adams, who has called on the club to sell the Spain international.
Some of Arteta’s recent failures as manager has been due to his inability to drop some of the senior players. If you hope to change the fortune of side, how do you hope to do it when you start the same failures time and time again.
