Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta got what he deserved for tactical blunder vs Man City, says pundit | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been criticised for playing Willian up front in a weird tactical blunder against Manchester City over the weekend.

The Gunners were beaten 1-0 thanks to a Raheem Sterling goal, and although they were only narrowly beaten by a big team, they were certainly not at their best with a strange approach up front.

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Willian is normally a winger and has never played as a central striker, so Arteta’s use of the Brazilian in that role certainly raised a few eyebrows when Arsenal have the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah capable of playing there.

Garth Crooks was far from impressed as he laid into Arteta in his column for BBC Sport, saying: “To see the Gunners playing Willian in a striking role with Alexandre Lacazette, a proven striker, on the bench – particularly having seen what Leicester did to City – was desperately disappointing.

“Manager Mikel Arteta wasn’t being calculating – it was padding and the Gunners got what they deserved: nothing.”

Arsenal fans will be disappointed that their manager got this big decision so wrong, as the Spanish tactician has normally been pretty astute with his tactics in his time at the Emirates Stadium.