Is Mikel Arteta sticking to his adaptability to Newcastle United or a more risky twist?
After his team scored against Manchester last weekend, the noise surrounding Arteta and his cautious attitude in big matches grew louder. Including the defeat of Liverpool at Anfield, the second time in a month Arteta hasn't gone all out to win the championship opponent on the court with his best player.
Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino made up his three midfield matches in both games, lacking creators from the start, which is an incredible point for those who want more inventions.
At Anfield, Martin Odegaard returned with a shoulder injury, so he played with Eberechi Eze, who debuted at the club with Eberechi Eze. Against Manchester City, Odegaard was out again, while Eze was out in the half and helped the game with an equalizer assisting Gabriel Martinelli.
This week, Arteta answered critics who wanted to see former Crystal Palace organizers in the starting XI. “Can he play 90 minutes (versus city)? That's the question I asked myself because you don't know the burden he can do.”
“So it's easy to say that he could have played from the beginning. Maybe not. Because he played two games from the beginning and he never played as the right attacker on his own court. That's another new element for him.”
Even if the game is too fast to start, his impact on the city is straightforward. Merino spent most of the first half fighting to win and maintain possession, but Eze caught the ball in the half turn, allowing Arsenal's attack to take place within minutes of his introduction.
The following example is the second time Eze catches the ball and finds Bukayo Saka. He touched his left foot to receive the ball from between the lines of the rice and then easily passed it to Saka with his right foot. In three passes, Arsenal moved from half of his depth to the city box.
In Liverpool and the city, preconceived issues seem to be physical challenges for these games, which may also be one of the few considerations for Newcastle on Sunday. Arsenal has had difficulties on the side of Eddie Howe in recent years, especially at St. James' Park.
They have survived the early attacks of the hosts since their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle on May 2023, with Arsenal not scoring three visits to St James Park in all games. The energy and atmosphere generated inside the stadium play a big role, but so does the defensive discipline of the Howe team. While Newcastle sometimes Newcastle publishers, they are also well trained their position well enough and prepared themselves for their vacancies in an effective middle block. Since then, this has been adopted in the Premier League against Arsenal.
Newcastle was Newcastle in the 2023-24 season when they were the first of the first of five Arsenal teams to fail to beat the target. Here is an example of how they frustrated Arsenal from two separate goals kicks in the game, whether David Raya is long or short.
Newcastle's 2-0 victory ended Arsenal's hopes for Champions League qualification after a defeat at St. James'Park in May 2022, Arteta said: “It's about understanding some of the situations in the game, not continuing to incorporate the game into the mood.”
Over the following season, Arsenal’s “living” style in “living” games has improved significantly, which often means calming the family crowd before controlling the game. Even if Arsenal tries to settle on Sunday night, Newcastle players and fans won't be easy.
Arsenal tried to do something similar to sports clubs in this month’s Champions League, but neither athleticism nor fans allowed them to do it. Arteta joked that the city attracted his decision to make Rice and Merino two-thirds of the midfield in Bilbao. But that's not what won them, and Martinelli and Leandro Trossard add different momentum on the bench.
However, the test run and recent changes in Newcastle could make more adventures bigger. Although they scored just two goals in five league games this season, Howe's team retained four clean sheets. They also played back three/five times in two of their last three league games, even though they left home in both games.
Asked about the Eze positioning after the 2-0 Carabao Cup defeated Vale on Wednesday night, Arteta said: “He was super compact against a 5-4-1 team.
Eze proved his ability to be in concentration and scope in the first month at Arsenal. Newcastle may just be Arteta's decision that he thinks Eze is probably the most dangerous and can give Arsenal the advantage he needs. If this is more central, it might make sense to use the Martinelli Out Wide, especially since he created goals by running straight at St James Park before. If that wide, then the attention will be focused on the three Arteta choices in the midfield.
Last season, Odegaard was still injured while heading to Newcastle in the Premier League, so Ateta scored 4-4-2 with Rice and Merino as two central midfielders, Kai Havertz and Trossard. Arsenal only made one shot when he lost 1-0 on the target. Almost a year, Odegaard is a few days away from returning to the pre-fitting valley, but if Arteta feels comfortable hiring more creative players, Ethan Nwaneri is also an option.
Arteta can play this in several different ways, but what he ends up doing will show everyone what he thinks is important in these big conflicts at least. Fans will hope it's more adventurous, but it may depend on whether he thinks the team is ready to bring the fight to a typical tough opponent.
(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)