It’s fair to say that Mikel Arteta got it very wrong for Arsenal against Villarreal on Thursday.
The Arsenal boss made a number of tactical decisions which didn’t exactly favour the North Londoners in their Europa League semi-final, which they lost 2-1.
But the biggest – and potentially worst – decision involved using Emile Smith Rowe as a false nine.
Arsenal were without the injured Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wasn’t fit to make the first XI.
And instead of using an Eddie Nketiah or Gabriel Martinelli, the Gunners’ coach gave Smith Rowe a free role up front and it didn’t really pan out as expected.
Earlier this week, Arsenal announced that they had signed Folarin Balogun up to a new long-term contract, following months of speculation about him leaving this summer for free.
The 19-year-old is one of the most exciting strikers coming through the Hale End academy.
And former Gunners marksman Kevin Campbell is at a loss to explain why Arteta didn’t even name Balogun – who is completely fit – on the bench, despite the fact he brought him to Spain.
He said To Same Old Arsenal podcast: “Balogun weren’t even in the squad! I don’t know! I don’t know!
“It was a gamble [to play Smith Rowe as a false nine] but I can only look at for me, why he would do that. He could start Martinelli, but Martinelli isn’t a link player. He’s not a Lacazette.”
Considering Arsenal were down a striker, bringing Balogun on the trip without naming him on the bench made virtually no sense whatsoever.
Yes, he is still raw and hasn’t even made a Premier League appearance yet, but why include him in the travelling squad then on Thursday then?
There’s quite a lot of decisions made by Arteta that don’t make a great deal of sense and that’s probably right up there, too.
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