Rio Ferdinand told his official YouTube channel that Mikel Arteta has failed to ‘handle’ the Arsenal players who are not part of his first-team picture and urged him to either ‘get rid’ or provide them with an opportunity.
The former England defender shared ‘that’s where Sir Alex was a genius’ and stated that the Old Trafford legend would make back-up players feel ‘ten feet tall’, whilst Arsenal have struggled in that department.
Arsenal suffered their fourth straight home defeat of the season over the weekend, which resulted in reports coming out that Arteta isn’t even speaking to one of his key leaders in David Luiz [Football London].
If the road Arsenal were going down under Unai Emery felt disastrous then this is feeling 10 times worse, as Ferdinand shared his thoughts on Arsenal and how issues are mounting amid Arteta’s decision to axe certain players.
“Arteta came in and bang, set my stool out this is what is going on and these players aren’t playing,” said Ferdinand.
“Now, if you do that and you are winning like he was earlier on in the season, then you don’t hear anything. You don’t hear any murmurs or mutterings behind the scenes from any players because you cannot say anything.
“Once that changes and you start losing games and pressure starts mounting. Then the people that aren’t playing start being a part of the group that maybe affects the harmony. That’s why you either have to get rid of them and get them out of the building.
“Or you have got to keep that door ajar and let them know there’s an opportunity, so they don’t become bitter and they don’t become people that want to talk in the media. I think it’s down to Arteta to handle that. He has to handle the dilemmas of the changing rooms. He has to handle the players that are playing but you also have to handle people are in and around the squad that aren’t playing every week.
“That is where Sir Alex was a genius. He made people feel 10 foot tall and they were subs or they were in the stands. He made them feel that he needed them or believed in them – that’s an area Arsenal are struggling.”
Arsenal’s record transfer deals
- Nicolas Pepe
£72 million
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
£56 million
- Alexandre Lacazette
£52 million
- Thomas Partey
45 million
- Mesut Ozil
£42 million
It does seem as though it’s a case of when not if for Arteta now because this has been a quite disastrous appointment from the Arsenal board.
The former Manchester City coach is drowning in North London, and whilst he has had his faults, there is no doubt that the players are taking him down.
Many players in that Arsenal dressing room were there towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s era, Emery’s and now Arteta’s. But as per, one man will take the flak for all, as it’s just a matter of time.
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