Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand has given his verdict on how Mikel Arteta must now be feeling about his Arsenal squad.
It’s fair to say the Spaniard hasn’t had the easiest ride during his first full season in charge of the Gunners as they sit mid-table in the Premier League.
The London club have been perennial European challengers in the Premier League for as long as any of us can remember, but they seem to be on course for their worst league finish in a long time under Arteta.
Ferdinand believes that the Spaniard now can’t trust his squad after another questionable performance against Burnley.
“Arteta must look at his squad like a promiscuous girlfriend. He must lack so much trust and faith in them. He can’t trust them at all because he doesn’t know what’s going to happen at the moment. He could do the best team talk of his life, but they’ll go out there and do their own thing and it doesn’t seem to be coming together,” Ferdinand said.
It’s harsh to say it, but Ferdinand is right.
Granit Xhaka and Bernd Leno’s combined contributions to Arsenal conceding their goal at the weekend were completely out of Arteta’s control, and there’s been so many instances of individual errors costing the London club this term.
Nicolas Pepe’s red card against Leeds and Bernd Leno’s red card against Wolves are just two more examples where Arteta has been thrown under the bus by an individual error.
We have to hope Arteta still has faith in his squad, but we have to wonder how he can continue to trust players who have made such a plethora of errors.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
