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Mikel Arteta has rejected criticism that Arsenal played with the handbrake on in Sunday’s draw against Manchester City and insisted that he has been surprised by the negative reaction to their approach.
A late equaliser from the substitute Gabriel Martinelli rescued a point at the Emirates after Erling Haaland’s opener despite Arsenal dominating possession, with City recording just 33.2% - the lowest ever registered by a team managed by Pep Guardiola in more than 600 league matches.
Arteta was slammed by Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher for his decision not to select Eberechi Eze from the start and opting for the more defensive-minded Mikel Merino in a three-man midfield. While the Arsenal manager insisted he had not heard their criticism, Arteta was adamant that his team put in a positive performance against City despite slipping five points behind early leaders Liverpool.
“I would be extremely surprised with my knowledge and my know-how and how I analyse a football game,” he said. “Because it was impossible for somebody to predict such dominance from Arsenal through 96 minutes because it never happened in 17 years of Pep as a manager.
“So if the narrative goes somewhere else, and we talk about dominance, about something else, how can you be dominant against such a team if you have ... what was the word that was used? Handbrake. Dominance and handbrake, they are two different words. But I accept everything. I will learn more to have a different vision.”
Asked about his decision not to select new £67.5m signing Eze, who came off the bench to set up Martinelli’s equaliser but also started in the wins over Nottingham Forest and Athletic Bilbao, Arteta added: “Could he play 90 minutes? That’s a question I put for myself because none of you know the load that he can do. So it’s easy to say he could have played from the start. Maybe not. Because he already played two games from the start. And he’s never played as a right attacking midfielder in his field. So that’s another one. A new element for him. But all good.”
Arteta confirmed that Noni Madueke is set to be out for several weeks after suffering a knee injury against City, with the England forward set for more tests in the coming days. There was more bad news with new signing Piero Hincapié having been ruled out of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Port Vale with a groin strain, while Arteta also revealed that Kai Havertz is expected to be out for months as he recovers from a knee injury.
“Maybe something to look at more in-depth, and we absolutely did that,” said Arteta of the number of injuries Arsenal have suffered in the past 12 months. “Try to keep that as low as possible. That’s what we are trying to do.”
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Teenagers Max Dowman – who at just 15 would become the youngest men’s player to start a game for Arsenal if selected – Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri are all expected to play some part against Port Vale, who last defeated Arsenal in 1901.
