Tony Adams has told Premier League Productions that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta should have picked Ainsley Maitland-Niles to start over Hector Bellerin in the North London derby.
Tottenham Hotspur ran out 2-0 winners over Arsenal yesterday, and Bellerin’s display in the contest came in for heavy criticism.
The Spanish right-back never looked comfortable in the contest, and he did not cover himself in glory for either of the goals which Tottenham scored.
Adams feels that the fault lies with Arteta though, as he believes Maitland-Niles should have been picked at right-back over Bellerin.
“For me, there were wrong decisions,” he said. “I would have played Maitland-Niles, just by judging the way that Hector has been playing of the last three games.”
Maitland-Niles had actually impressed for Arsenal in midweek, as Arteta’s side picked up a 4-1 win in the Europa League over Rapid Wien.
On that occasion the England international was played as a central midfielder rather than a full-back, though.
In the end Maitland-Niles didn’t actually get on the pitch at all yesterday, with Dani Ceballos favoured to come on to the field after Thomas Partey had to be taken off.
Arsenal’s defeat has left Arteta’s side in 15th place in the Premier League table, after a rather worrying start to the new campaign.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
