Martin Keown thinks that Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke would have been ‘embarrassed’ by the way it looked like Mikel Arteta was out managed by Unai Emery for much of last night, as per his comments on BT Sport.
Arsenal were beaten 2-1 in Spain by Villarreal and could consider themselves slightly fortunate that the defeat wasn’t heavier.
Arsenal were out of sorts in the contest, particularly in the first half, when Emery’s game plan worked far better than Arteta’s.
The Gunners boss opted to leave Gabriel Martinelli on the bench, and play with a false nine.
But Emery’s tactics saw his side come out on top and race into a 2-0 lead.
It wasn’t actually until Arsenal went down to 10 men that they began to start showing their best form.
And Keown feels that Kroenke may well have been humiliated that the manager he sacked got the better of one he has placed so much trust in.
“It looked like the previous manager was embarrassing the current manager and that would have been hugely embarrassing for the owners, if not the board,” he said.
Crucially for Arsenal they do at least remain in the tie, after Nicolas Pepe’s second half penalty.
The away goal means that the result was far from disastrous.
But Arsenal’s display at the Emirates Stadium will surely have to improve if they are to progress.
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