Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown spoke to Stadium Astro after the Gunners’ defeat to Leicester City at home last night.
Mikel Arteta’s side started the game brightly but failed to go in front in the first half. Arsenal’s second-half performances against the Foxes was arguably their worst since Unai Emery was sacked, and that is a real worry.
Keown was asked about his former club’s display, and he has claimed that Arteta is trying something that Emery did last season that eventually cost him his job at the Emirates.
He said: “They keep changing from one system to another and they did this with Emery. That’s what I would like to see now, the same pictures, the same triangles, the same movements, the same partnerships, the same relationships.”
“If you keep changing it, you don’t find a rhythm. These players now are getting the ball now and it’s jamming a little bit, so I think keep it simple and start building from this team. If this is the way he wants to play, keep with it, and try to put the people in it and get the messages right and work on it.”
“It was very static, the front three never really moved from positions, they didn’t make themselves available. I believe he’s the right man for the job 100 per cent, super-bright manager and he’s going to have setbacks, it’s how he responds to this now.”
Since Arteta’s arrival, Arsenal’s defensive organisation has improved considerably. The Gunners seem to work harder without possession, and that has made them a very difficult side to to beat.
However, that has, in ways, compromised their attack. Arsenal have lacked creativity since the lockdown. A lot of pressure is on the front-three to create chances between themselves, which has made them a very predictable side.
Arsenal rank 16th in the Premier League with respect to shots at goal. That is a shocking record for a club aiming to end up in the top four; something that Arteta needs to sort out as quickly as possible.
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