Andy Cole thinks Arteta was ‘very disrespectful’ to one Arsenal player against City

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Andy Cole said on talkSPORT (2:17pm, October 18, 2020) that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was “very disrespectful” to striker Alexandre Lacazette.

The former Arsenal and Manchester United striker was not pleased with Arteta deciding to play Willian as the centre-forward for the Premier League game against Manchester City at the weekend.

Willian, who joined the Gunners on a free transfer in the summer after leaving London rivals Chelsea, is an attacking midfielder/winger by trade, but the Brazil international played upfront, as the Gunners lost 1-0.

Cole said on talkSPORT (2:17pm, October 18, 2020): “I think he is being disrespectful to Lacazette as well. Willian is not a centre-forward.

“If you have got a centre-forward on the bench who is your top goalscorer as well, to turn around and say, ‘Look, I am going to play Willian as the centre-forward. You sit on the bench and watch him play centre-forward’, I think that is very disrespectful.”

Disappointing display from Willian

Deployed as the false nine against City, Willian had a disappointing game and could not make a massive impact.

Although the Brazilian worked hard, he was not very effective against the City defence and did not provide a lot of attacking threat.

According to WhoScored, Willian played two key passes, had a pass accuracy of 95.2%, took 32 touches, and put in seven crosses, before he was taken off midway through the second half.

Lacazette came on as a substitute in the 68th minute, and during his time on the pitch, the Frenchman had a pass accuracy of 40% and took five touches, according to WhoScored.