Arsenal players are angry with manager Mikel Arteta for his failure to deal with Willian for his trip to Dubai, according to The Athletic.
The £13.5m-rated winger took the unauthorised holiday a few days before the Gunners were due to play Leeds United, however, still started the game.
It is thought some of the side’s star-studded squad are unhappy over the apparent ‘double standards’ employed by the former Manchester City coach.
Is Willian good enough to play for Arsenal?
Yes
No
If true this proves to be an incredibly shocking move from Arteta, who only less than a year ago talked about employing ‘non-negotiables’ prior to Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea back in December last year. How he can then fail to punish them whilst you have punished some players for less.
Mesut Ozil has been frozen out of the first-team picture for reason unknown to the majority of the general public. Meanwhile, Matteo Guendouzi was sent out on loan to the Bundesliga for failing to apologise after his clash with Neal Maupay in the defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion towards the ends of last season.
If you’re going to change the culture of bad habits within a dressing room, being consistent on how and when you hand out the punishment is key. You can’t punish some players, whilst others are let off the hook.
Arteta has failed in his job as manager of the club. Willian should never have been in the 18-man squad for the clash with the Whites if he was guilty of breaching the Spaniard’s disciplinary rules. His failure to punish him has clearly opened up a can of worms among the first-team squad and could be understandable for the shocking lack of team cohesion in recent games.
