Martin Keown has warned Mikel Arteta that he is repeating Unai Emery’s mistake of constantly changing systems and personnel after Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by Leicester City on Sunday.
Emery – who was sacked after only 18 months in charge of the London club last December – struggled to nail down his best starting lineup or formation.
Since Arteta took over from the former Sevilla head coach, he has moved to make the team more solid in defense. But, their attacking output has suffered because of it.
Arsenal’s creativity issues were once again displayed in their loss to the Foxes at the Emirates as they struggled to create many clear cut chances.
Alexandre Lacazette had a goal ruled out for offside early on, and he should have put rhe club 1-0 up later in the first half, but he could not connect with Kieran Tierney’s inviting cross.
Arteta once again changed his starting line-up as he went for a 3-4-3, with Granit Xhaka dropping into the back three. But, his lack of pace was very much exposed for Vardy’s goal.
The Arsenal manager has always switched between the back three and back four formations since arriving at the Emirates, and Gunners legend Keown has urged him to pick one system and continue with it.
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‘They keep changing from one system to another and they did this with Emery,’ Keown told Stadium Astro. ‘That’s what I would like to see now, the same pictures, the same triangles, the same movements, the same partnerships, the same relationships.
‘If you keep changing it, you don’t find a rhythm, and that’s something that I found in a very successful team. It was like putting an old pair of slippers on for a game. Everything was there. You’d fire it into midfield to Patrick Vieira, into Dennis Bergkamp, [Thierry] Henry into the channel; it was three passes.
‘These players now are getting the ball now and it’s jamming a little bit, so I think keep it simple and start building from this team. If this is the way he wants to play, keep with it, and try to put the people in it and get the messages right and work on it.
‘It was very static, the front three never really moved from positions, they didn’t make themselves available. ‘This is a brand new project for the manager. We don’t want to be over critical. I believe he’s the right man for the job 100 per cent, super bright manager and he’s going to have setbacks, it’s how he responds to this now.’
