It’s Halloween weekend, but the scariest viewing of all for Mikel Arteta is the Premier League table.
The Gunners had the chance to put the pressure on Manchester City and Liverpool – who both kick off at 3pm. However, the tricky test of a lunchtime trip to Newcastle stood ahead of Arteta’s side, and that got a tad more tricky when Alexander Isak opened the scoring in the 12th minute.
Arsenal struggled to get out of first gear, in a drab encounter that has left the Gunners cut adrift at the top. And Daily Star Sport has a look at five things Arteta got wrong on Saturday
Defensively too narrow
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A lot has been said about Arsenal defence under Arteta – and while they looked imperious last season, the Gunners last clean sheet on the Premier League came against Tottenham Hotspur way back in September.
Simply, on Saturday, they were just too narrow. Anthony Gordon was given too much space to whip in a cross, where Alexander Isak rose above the defence to nod home.
It’s becoming all to familiar for Arsenal now, from a defence that once looked almost impossible to breach.
Starting Leandro Trossard
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Off the bench, there are few better impact players than Leandro Trossard. And yet it never seems to work for him when he starts.
Arsenal have hardly been free-scoring this season, they’re missing a true No.9 – Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus just aren’t the men to fire you to a league title. And Trossard doesn’t add to the starting side what he does off the bench.
“The difference in quality between Trossard starting football matches and Trossard coming on as a substitute is genuinely ridiculous, consistently looks considerably worse,” one fan pointed out. And another added: “Trossard should always come off the bench and never start!”
Playing it too safe
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There was one name on Arsenal fans’ lips during the week: Ethan Nwaneri. The 17-year-old was electric against Preston in the Carabao Cup. And, we know, the Carabao Cup is different, but what more does Nwaneri have to do to earn a start?
“Ethan Nwaneri is the best talent I’ve seen come from the academy in the last decade. He looks so ready for Premier League football,” one fan said. While a second shared: “He didn’t put Nwaneri against Leicester or Southampton at home because he is young and needed to be managed.
“And now he has to put Nwaneri in the game that we need to win, away against Newcastle! What kind of youth player management is this?”
Making the wrong substitutions
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“Jesus and Ben White. You can tell Arteta just gave up,” one fan moaned on social media.
With Arsenal trialing the game, and just under 20 minutes left on the clock, Arteta looked to his bench and elected to bring on a defender. Arteta did introduce Nwaneri, but it was way too late – and he elected to leave Raheem Sterling on the bench.
“This is totally on Arteta!? Where are the subs man,” one fans fumed. While a second said: “Arteta going prime Wenger and refusing to make a sub. Ridiculous to wait this long!”
Thomas Partey at left-back
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Arsenal have been hit by injuries in recent weeks – but Partey turning out at right-back was a strange decision.
“I will never understand how Arteta starts partey at right back when Ben White is on the bench,” one fan fumed. Ahead of the game, Arteta had admitted White wasn’t ready to play.
“Arteta should stop playing Partey right back. We need him in the middle,” a second said. And another added: “Arteta and his nonsense experiments… So White was fit all along, and he chose to start with Partey at RB??”