Arsenal fans have been wondering if Mikel Arteta has something against some of the young talents that the club have acquired before the Spaniard was appointed as manager. His decisions on some of these players have seen fans questioning whether the boss is making the right move or is he making a mistake that will come back to bite the Gunners down the line.
The most controversial decision has been sending young defensive talent William Saliba on loan for the second season in a row. Most fans would have been fine with the Frenchman going on loan for the first year of Arteta’s reign because his previous loan spell at St Etienne was injury-laden and also cut short because Ligue 1 ended their season due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
The problem with the second loan spell was the way Arteta handled it. Saliba could’ve been sent back on loan at the beginning of the season but the youngster sat on the bench and eventually took a leave due to family issues. A lot of fans felt that this was mishandled by Arteta as he could have given Saliba a chance during the Europa League group stage given the Gunners were grouped with the likes of Molde, Dundalk, and Rapid Wien.
Instead, Arteta failed to register him for the Europa League squad which left Saliba ineligible to compete and get a chance to earn more chances to play. Fans also felt that Saliba should just get a chance anyway because he couldn’t be too much worse than Rob Holding, who had his struggles last season.
Saliba was finally sent on loan to French club Nice, where he earned Ligue 1 player of the month honors along with making it to the league’s team of the year in just a half of the season. This led fans to believe that he had performed well enough to at least be given a chance to play for the north Londoners this upcoming season.
Now the youngster has been sent on another loan this season and fans are wondering if he will ever get the chance to play for Arsenal. Matteo Guendouzi is another young talent that fans are hoping that Arteta has made the right decision on. Guendouzi, a player known for having a fiery attitude, had an issue in one game against Brighton and hasn’t seen the pitch as an Arsenal player ever since.
The midfielder was sent on loan to Hertha Berlin last season where he again had some issues but performed well. He has been sent back out on loan for the start of this season and that has fans wondering if Arteta no longer wants him at the club. Fans felt like Guendouzi should have been afforded another chance given the fact that he is young and maybe just needs to grow a little.
Being that Guendouzi possesses some of the characteristics needed to thrive in the midfield like a great motor, fight, determination, and bravery on the ball. Some fans feel like this is another player that should have been given a chance to prove himself, especially because the midfield is one of the weaker positions in the Gunners’ setup. Gabriel Martinelli is yet another player that the fan base was worrying about as far as his amount of game time.
Yes, the forward had a serious injury in the previous season so it was understood why he was brought back slowly. He then suffered a setback during last season but eventually got fit again. When fit, he often found himself behind a struggling Willian for a good portion of the season. Fans were frustrated as they could not figure out why Arteta continued to persist with Willian, who clearly was having a poor run of form, instead of Martinelli, who is a young, hungry, pacy, and energetic spark that could have been the energy the Gunners needed during their early-season struggles.
Martinelli, a player like Guendouzi who thrived under the previous regime has found minutes hard to come by and fans are wondering if Arteta has something against these players because they are not his or is it strictly performance-related. These are decisions that are questionable because the Spaniard is still considered a novice manager. It is believed that he is on a short leash so these moves that he is making have to be right. Only time will tell if they are or if they will come back to bite the club in the end.
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