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- Martin Keown says he wants to see more consistency in Arsenal’s tactics and team selection.
- Keown thinks that Mikel Arteta is the right man for the job, but should stick to one system and style of play.
Arsenal have had an up and down start to their 2020-21 Premier League season. The Gunners have endured a patchy run of form in recent weeks, the latest being a 1-0 home defeat to Leicester City on Monday.
Arsenal have now lost three of their last four games in the Premier League and are currently in 11th place in the league table. Arteta will be hoping to bounce back from their more recent loss but will face a stern test in their next league fixture.
Arsenal travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday.
Martin Keown sends warning to Mikel Arteta but also voices his support for the new Arsenal boss
Martin Keown wants to see more consistency from Arsenal in terms of their tactics and team selection. Keown raised his concerns about the Gunners during an interview with Metro. He said:
“They keep changing from one system to another and they did this with Emery. That’s what I would like to see now, the same pictures, the same triangles, the same movements, the same partnerships, the same relationships.”
“If you keep changing it, you don’t find a rhythm, and that’s something that I found in a very successful team. It was like putting an old pair of slippers on for a game. Everything was there. You’d fire it into midfield to Patrick Vieira, into Dennis Bergkamp, Henry into the channel, it was three passes.”
“These players now are getting the ball now and it’s jamming a little bit, so I think keep it simple and start building from this team. If this is the way he wants to play, keep with it, and try to put the people in it and get the messages right and work on it.”
Keown, however, did not want to be extremely critical of Mikel Arteta and voiced his support for the new Arsenal boss. He believes that the Spaniard is the right man for the Gunners job.
“It was very static, the front three never really moved from positions, they didn’t make themselves available. This is a brand new project for the manager. We don’t want to be over critical.
“I believe he’s the right man for the job 100 per cent, sure bright manager and he’s going to have setbacks, its how he responds to this now,” said Keown.
Arsenal finished in eighth place in the Premier League last season, but managed to win the FA Cup. The Emirates outfit began their current season with a Community Shield triumph, which filled their fans with hope for the current campaign.
The Gunners have also made some key additions in the transfer market, but now seem to be struggling to find their identity under Mikel Arteta. The 38-year-old will be hoping that his team are able to gel in the coming weeks, as they enter a gruelling fixture period.
