Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been criticised for overthinking things by making so many substitutions during his side’s 3-1 defeat away to Manchester United yesterday.
The Gunners were slightly unlucky to lose their unbeaten run at the start of this season, with Gabriel Martinelli seeing an early goal very harshly chalked off by VAR, while Arteta’s side generally looked the more likely to win, particularly at the start of the second half.
Still, things fell apart for Arsenal quickly after Bukayo Saka scored their equaliser, and Crooks believes Arteta showed a lack of patience at that key stage in the game.
The Spanish tactician made a lot of substitutions in quick succession, and Crooks wrote in his BBC Sport column that he feels this may have cost Arsenal a game that was there for them to be won.
Discussing where it went wrong for Arsenal against Man Utd, Crooks said: “For 60 minutes, Arsenal played the best football I’ve seen them play this season.
“Perhaps with a little more patience from their manager the Gunners might have come away with something.
“Having five substitutes doesn’t mean you have to use all of them.”
Arsenal can certainly take plenty of encouragement from how they played at Old Trafford, though it could also be a concern for their fans that Arteta failed to keep his cool and manage the game when he needed to.
Crooks is widely regarded as a mental pygmy for good reason
Arteta made the substitutions when they are 2:1 down. He had to do something to turn the tide. If he did nothing and they didn’t score. He’d get criticized for it. Their problem is Lonkonga. He is not able to provide the stability in the midfield they needed.