‘You need them’: Ian Wright’s plea to Arteta about five Arsenal players he doesn’t use

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Ian Wright has stated that Mikel Arteta needs to ‘manage the grey area’ as Arsenal boss in a much better fashion, as he told PL Productions (27/01/22 at 12:25 pm).

The Highbury legend was making reference to Arteta’s handling of certain players such as, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Matteo Guendouzi.

When Arteta was handed the keys to the Emirates, it was his first job in the spotlight after spending several years under the wings of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

During his time in north London, the former midfielder has proven to be very strict and no-nonsense in his handling of players.

Arteta stripped Aubameyang as captain for constant discipline issues, he sent Guendouzi out on loan after supposed issues with his attitude and refused to play William Saliba even though fans felt they were crying out for his talents in their backline.

Added with the above three, Wright also mentioned Arteta allowing Lucas Torreira to go out on loan, and most recently, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, despite the club needing legs in the middle of the park.

Wright simply feels that Arteta needs to ‘manage’ these situations better because ‘you need’ these players. 

“Mikel has come in and it’s very black and white,” said Wright. “He has to manage the grey area.

“You are talking about a midfield, at the moment, we have got Guendouzi out on loan. Torreira is out on loan. Saliba is out on loan. We just let Ainsley Maitland-Niles go on loan.

“You just mentioned Aubameyang. I think you have to manage that situation simply because you need them.

“You use the players that are contracted to the club. Look what happened with Ozil when we needed a number ten. That kind of management is something he will learn to get better at. You have to use the players.”

From the above players, Maitland-Niles has a strong chance of playing for Arsenal next season, as does Saliba after a long wait.

But Aubameyang’s days seem to be numbered, whilst with Torreira it’s just a case of it not working out with him.

As for Guendouzi, who is out on loan at Marseille along with Saliba, it will be interesting if he ever returns because the Ligue 1 side have an option to buy him in the summer.