Speaking on The Overlap, Gary Neville has been questioning a few of Mikel Arteta’s decisions this weekend.
The Spaniard oversaw a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United at the weekend, but for large periods of the game, Arsenal looked like the better team.
However, at 2-1 down and three points on the line, Arteta rolled the dice by making a triple substitution, bringing on three attacking players late in the game.
Unfortunately, Arteta’s subs backfired and Arsenal were quickly caught on the break, and Neville was left dumbfounded by the Gunners manager’s decision here.
What’s been said?
Neville questioned Arteta’s subs.
“Why did he make those subs?” Neville asked
“I’ve been a manager for a very short period and I understand that making substitutions is one of the most difficult things to do, whether you’re 1-0 up, whether you’re drawing or you’re 1-0 down.
“But I was really surprised, particularly coming through the Pep Guardiola school. Pep just chases a game the same way all the time. Why did he go the way he did so far out with 20 minutes to go?”
Calculated risk
Mikel Arteta’s substitutions backfired on this occasion, but it’s clear to see why these subs were made.
The Arsenal boss felt that having more attacking players on the pitch would help his team score, and while that didn’t prove to be the case this time, this is a tactic that has worked on countless occasions in the past for numerous managers.
The game probably could’ve been managed differently, but these subs don’t look like a huge blunder to us, because on another day it could work.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and it’s easy to question a manager’s decision after a game is over.
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