“Imagine he lost the ball 11 times, had fewer touches than David Raya with only 40% duel won and also a very poor passing accuracy. He can’t even hold on to the ball just to save his life” Arsenal Legend Patrick Vieira says £180k-p/w Arsenal star is the biggest problem for Mikel Arteta and the team he’s trying to build right now

Imagine that he had fewer touches than David Raya, dropped the ball eleven times, and had really terrible passing accuracy. To spare his life, he can’t even hang onto the ball. Legend of Arsenal The biggest issue facing Mikel Arteta and the team he is currently trying to assemble, according to Patrick Vieira, is the £180k-per-week Arsenal player.

HBAgency
40% of duels won by HBAgency: Arteta must bench the Arsenal star following a “horror” 5/10 performance

Arsenal had the difficult challenge of hosting AS Monaco at the Emirates in the Champions League after their humiliating draw with Fulham on the road over the weekend.

It would be incorrect to characterize the match as even, even though Mikel Arteta’s team and the French powerhouses, who are now in third place in Ligue 1, were tied on points going into the match.

Although the Gunners’ performance wasn’t particularly noteworthy, they were unquestionably the superior team, and several of the starting lineup members put on strong performances.

Even said, there were a few concerning displays, particularly from one player who has to be benched for the upcoming match, even though the evening was decent overall.

The top players at Arsenal

It’s important to look at the positive aspects of last night and the players that gave outstanding performances for Arsenal before moving on to the negative. Bukayo Saka is the player of the moment.

https://x.com/footballontnt/status/1866972956733125045?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1866972956733125045%7Ctwgr%5Ef442a88527736860d4a6c38bfd4747d6fa131c0c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsportdigest.com.ng%2F2024%2F12%2F12%2F12%2F12%2FImagine that with only 40 duels won and extremely poor passing accuracy, he lost the ball 11 times, had fewer touches than David Raya, and couldn’t even hold onto the ball to save his life.

After being relatively quiet for the first twenty minutes or so, the 23-year-old found himself in a prime position to score the first goal for the home team. He then continued to score late into the second half before setting up Kai Havertz a little while later.

Even though he wasn’t playing at his most spectacular level, he was still incredibly effective, which is a sign of a truly exceptional player—some may even call him world-class.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, an 18-year-old Hale Ender who was making his Champions League debut, was another standout player. Based on his performance, you wouldn’t have thought.

Like he did for the first goal, the substitute left-back looked completely at home on the European scene, shutting down opponents and making incredible passes into dangerous areas.

Mikel Merino, Declan Rice, and Jakub Kiwior are other noteworthy performers. They were unimpressive but efficient and barely made a mistake during the game.

Even if Arteta and company had many reasons to be pleased with the way the game went, one player in particular was really disappointing and shouldn’t be in the starting lineup on Saturday.

The Arsenal player that needs to be benched

The guy in question is, regrettably, Gabriel Martinelli, who is extremely skilled and gave Arsenal another memorable performance.

The crucial point is that we are aware that the Brazilian international possesses the ability to beat the world.

That is demonstrated by his record of 15 goals and six assists in 46 games during the 22–23 season, but the former Ituano star has since appeared to have lost much of his former glory.

For instance, the 23-year-old only managed 13 goal involvements in 44 games last season, and his performance this year has only been somewhat better, with four goals and three assists in 21 games.

Fans are starting to worry about his lack of influence on games, not only his output—or lack thereof.

His sole contribution during his Sunday cameo, for instance, was to veer offside for what should have been the winning goal and then toss a ball at Kenny Tete’s back as the club was desperately searching for a winner.

Sadly, the Guarulhos-born star was equally ineffectual last night. He wasted a great chance, failed to beat his opponent on multiple occasions, and, if we’re being completely honest, was quite fortunate not to be sent off in the first half.