Mikel Arteta ‘facing revolt at Arsenal after senior players express frustration at being blamed for Gunners’ woes… while Spaniard’s tactical prowess is also being questioned’ with club in bottom half of the Premier League
- Mikel Arteta is under fire from his players for blaming them for Arsenal’s woes
- Some senior players feel Arteta is not taking enough responsibility at the club
- The Spaniard’s treatment of some players and tactics are being questioned
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is facing a backlash from his players over his not taking responsibility for the Gunners’ poor season and blaming them instead.
Senior squad members have reportedly began to voice their concerns over Arteta’s tactical decisions and treatment of some players, according to The Sun.
The club’s woes have come to the point where some senior players are questioning Arteta’s methods, such as leaving out players following a poor result.
Mikel Arteta is under fire from some of his Arsenal players for blaming them for the club’s woes
The Gunners are languishing in tenth place in the Premier League, 12 points off the top four
Such was the treatment of club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was relegated to the bench for Arsenal’s dismal 1-1 draw with Slavia Prague in the Europa League quarter-final first leg after playing badly in the Gunners’ 3-0 Premier League loss to Liverpool.
Aubameyang came on to assist for the Gunners’ only goal, leading some players to reportedly question the wisdom of Arteta’s decision.
He came under fire for his tactics, team selection and leaving it too late to make attacking changes against Slavia, not introducing Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe, who combined for Arsenal’s goal, until the 78th minute.
Similarly, Arteta’s use of midfielder Thomas Partey is reportedly a sore point, with some in the squad feeling the manager’s tactics are not getting the best out of their £45million summer acquisition.
Arteta (right) dropped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (left) to the bench against Slavia Prague
While accepting that they have not been playing well enough, members of the Arsenal squad are said to feel that Arteta is primarily shifting the blame onto them rather than taking more responsibility himself.
Arsenal are having a poor season under the Spaniard’s leadership, with the club languishing in tenth place in the Premier League, a whopping 12 points off the Champions League spots.
In fact European football of any sort next season may be beyond them with the Gunners seven points off the Europa League positions ahead of their match against Sheffield United on Sunday.
After drawing 1-1 against Slavia in the Europa League, Arteta said European football was a ‘minimum’ requirement and reminded his stars of his and their ‘responsibility’ to secure a place in continental competition.
He also stood by his decision to drop Aubameyang and insisted the Gabon striker would not become another Mesut Ozil.
Some have questioned whether Arteta’s tactics are stifling midfielder Thomas Partey (right)
