by Well, that was unexpected. With Mikel Arteta looking forward to Sunday’s game against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, a game with huge implications for the Premier League title race, he was restored to a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night. And specifically with the series on the field between Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White after the full-time whistle, when passions ended.
The defensive teams were furious at how Arsenal conceded. It is probably also fair to say that things would have been much greater if they had done so again in stoppage time, as they did almost after a half-cleared corner; David Raya had to save from Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi. So, was Zinchenko and friends White again?
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“Yes … they have been in the same house for the last few days, sharing wives and everything,” Arteta said. “It’s okay, they live together now. They are best friends.”
At that point it is extremely important to point out that Arteta was joking. He went on to say, as he did on the night, that he loved this kind of commitment, as well as the way it showed the chemistry within his team because “you don’t argue with someone if you don’t have a great relationship at you. “. The manager added: “I want my players to always want to be better and be challenged. If not, it’s Disneyland.”
It was good to see Arteta inject a little humor into his press conference, a little personality. As the pre-match pressure eased, it could be seen as evidence that his work had grown, and that he was more comfortable.
What was more predictable was Arteta’s response to the single biggest problem facing his team – when they have to be heartless and clinical with the final touch in front of goal.
He felt that this season, compared to last – in which Arsenal really challenged for the title until the final weeks – they were more structured in their build-up play and, as an extension of the bad moments against deep opposition, more formal. and predictable.
At Forest, they could be accused of trying to score the perfect goal, which they almost did in the 57th minute at 0-0 when White got inside, Bukayo Saka headed back and Martin Ødegaard swayed one way before playing in Gabriel Jesus, which was glorious. placed. Frustratingly, he lashed out against the post.
That may be the impression but Opta statistics show that Arsenal have taken more shots on average per league game this season and have created more chances. What cannot be ruled out is that they have scored fewer goals per game and had a much lower shot conversion rate, which also goes for the big chances.
It was particularly evident in the last meeting with Liverpool in early January – in the Emirates FA Cup – when Arsenal took the lead for the opening hour but could not put the ball in the net. Liverpool grabbed a couple of late goals to go ahead, Arteta later said he feared his players had developed a psychological block.
One of Arteta’s mentors, Pep Guardiola, would say when he was in charge at Barcelona that his aim was to get his attackers in the right positions; then it was up to them. In the recently released BBC documentary on Guardiola, his main striker at Bayern Munich – Robert Lewandowski – went on record as saying that Guardiola told him that he couldn’t help him finish but would do everything for him to feed
Arteta does not accept this. Always meticulous in every detail, he believes that a manager can fully help his players with the most important final act and it was interesting to hear him detail some of his processes in preparation for Liverpool.
“I showed the players a lot of images [clips] after 54, 57, 63 minutes [of the FA Cup tie against Liverpool] … a chance … and the reaction of all the players to each other was incredible,” he said. “Against Fulham [in the 2-1 league defeat on 31 December] I didn’t like it. At 1-1, Bukayo missed a huge chance and I didn’t like that reaction.
“The scoreline reflects what the team produces. And we have to coach that, we have to develop the play, we have to create more situations. That must fall upon us [the coaching staff] – that’s for sure.”
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Arteta worked as Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City and was interviewed for the documentary. He said he has not seen it yet but a lesson he learned from that time is now felt – the need to stay true to one’s faith, especially at times of high stress.
“It was one of the most impressive things I saw at Man City,” said Arteta. “After a very difficult first year [when Guardiola won nothing], everyone in England was saying you can’t play that kind of game. From the top [of the club], they said: ‘We will continue to go in the same direction. We fully believe in what you are going to do.’ There was no question of going in a different direction and for me that was the key point when they succeeded.”
Arteta can eye a potential ignition moment. It feels like a must win game against Liverpool and he would take the points however they came.
“I don’t mind ugly goals,” he said. “I love ugly goals. I love cheap goals. We need them. But you have to produce them. I don’t know how to coach that – tell someone to hit the post, hit it off someone’s head and then it goes the other way.”
