Arsenal continued their remarkable run of form on Tuesday evening, extending their winning streak across all competitions to ten games. Yet, despite this dominance, manager Mikel Arteta has come under criticism for what some describe as an overly “micromanaging” style.
The Gunners cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Slavia Prague in the UEFA Champions League at the Fortuna Arena. Bukayo Saka opened the scoring with a first-half penalty, before Mikel Merino struck twice to secure a convincing win.
This result marked Arsenal’s fourth straight Champions League triumph of the season and their tenth consecutive win overall. Their recent 2-0 success against Burnley in the Premier League also strengthened their position at the top of the table, with a six-point lead over their closest challengers.
The North London side now looks every bit a title favorite after finishing as runners-up for the past three seasons. However, not everyone is fully convinced by Arteta’s methods.
Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer believes Arteta needs to trust his players more and allow them greater freedom on the pitch. Speaking to football.london, McAteer said:
“I think Arteta has to stop micromanaging. He’s a fantastic manager and has done an incredible job over the last few seasons, but sometimes he just needs to let the team play. You can be brilliant, but someone else comes along — like a Federer — and dominates everything. It doesn’t mean you’re doing badly.”
McAteer praised the squad Arteta has assembled, calling it “the strongest and most complete” Arsenal side in years, but added that the manager’s pragmatism might be holding them back.
“He’s got to start believing in his tools,” McAteer continued. “He needs to trust players like Eberechi Eze and Martin Ødegaard. It feels like he’s holding them back a bit.”
Arsenal will be looking to maintain their impressive form as they travel to face Sunderland on Saturday, while Liverpool prepare for a high-stakes clash against Manchester City the following day
