Arteta criticized for his use of players against Aston Villa

According to Paul Merson, who played for Arsenal from 1985 to 1997, coach Mikel Arteta made a mistake right from the personnel arrangement in the 0-2 loss to Aston Villa in round 33 of the Premier League.

"Keep using a starting lineup that wins every week, don't be blindsided by 25 minutes against Bayern," Merson said on Sky Sport .

Compared to the 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Arsenal made some personnel adjustments yesterday. Notably, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard replaced Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli respectively. In which, Havertz was moved to play midfield, while Jesus played as a center forward.

Arteta covered his face in disappointment when he saw Arsenal lose to Aston Villa in round 33 of the Premier League. Photo: Reuters — Arteta covered his face in disappointment when he saw Arsenal lose to Aston Villa in round 33 of the Premier League. Photo: *Reuters*

Arsenal had 14 shots in the first half, with three on target, but Havertz, Jesus and Trossard all missed. In the second half, Arteta's side failed to maintain the same tempo and collapsed in the final 10 minutes thanks to goals from John McGinn and Ollie Watkins.

"Jesus came on, played well and Arteta immediately pulled Havertz back into midfield," Merson added. "Arsenal won nine out of ten games with Jorginho in midfield and Havertz up front. Arteta made the same change when he drew 3-3 with Southampton last season by dropping Jorginho. The pressure was on everyone. That's when you need a calm Pep Guardiola."

The home defeat means Arsenal are now level on 71 points with Liverpool and two points behind leaders Manchester City, who thrashed Luton Town 5-1 in their earlier game to return to the top of the Premier League from November 2023.

On his personal podcast, former England defender Gary Neville said he was not surprised by Man City's current position, as they have a lot of experience in the sprint phase. "It feels inevitable that Guardiola's Man City machine will take the lead with a few rounds left in the season. It will be very, very difficult to stop Man City," the former England defender said.

Neville also insisted that Arsenal have not given up hope of winning the title and wants to see Arteta's side show their mettle in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern, or the tough Premier League games against Chelsea, Tottenham or Man Utd afterwards. "I'm very curious, now I want to see how they react," Neville said. "They could even be out of the Champions League in midweek, but the question is how they perform at the weekend? Important weeks ahead for Arsenal, a lot to watch and a lot to care about. Arsenal have a week or two to decide the season."

Arsenal players were disappointed after conceding a goal to Aston Villa in round 33 of the Premier League. Photo: Reuters — Arsenal players were disappointed after conceding a goal to Aston Villa in round 33 of the Premier League. Photo: *Reuters*

Similar to Arsenal, Liverpool also had a difficult week, losing 0-3 to Atalanta in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals and 0-1 to Crystal Palace in the Premier League, both at Anfield. From the quadruple, Liverpool can only win one title, the League Cup, in their final season under Jurgen Klopp.

But Neville still believes Liverpool are having a positive season. "Nobody expected Liverpool to be in the title race before the season started. If you said Liverpool would be two points behind Man City with five or six games left, I would say there's no chance," said the 49-year-old former defender. "I think it's a huge achievement for Klopp to get Liverpool to where they are. But they might want more because this is Klopp's last season."

Hong Duy

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