'Pressure's got to him' - Paul Merson spots Mikel Arteta tactical error in Arsenal vs Aston Villa

Arsenal legend Paul Merson has slammed Mikel Arteta for his team selection in the Gunners' defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday

Arsenal legend Paul Merson has slammed Mikel Arteta’s team selection against Aston Villa. The Gunners fell two points behind league leaders Manchester City as goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins earned an away win for Villa at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal had the chance to move a point clear in the title race after watching Liverpool lose to Crystal Palace earlier in the day. The team performed well in the first half but did not take their chances and were eventually punished by Unai Emery’s team.

Mikel Arteta made tactical switches from the Gunners’ recent league win over Brighton, moving Kai Havertz into midfield at the expense of Jorginho, playing Gabriel Jesus as a central striker, and starting Leandro Trossard out wide. Analysing the defeat for Sky Sports, Arsenal legend Paul Merson claimed that Arteta had repeated a mistake by leaving out Jorginho and suggested that the title race pressure had impacted the manager’s decisions.

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“I think he got in his own way, he did it last season as well against Southampton but this is what happens,” Merson explained. “Pressure gets to everybody, not just the players but the managers as well.

“That’s why you need someone like [Manchester City manager] Pep Guardiola who just keeps his cool. Listen, [Liverpool boss] Jurgen Klopp is a great manager but why is he bringing on Harvey Elliot with ten minutes to go [against Crystal Palace]? Give him 25-30 minutes, he fixes football matches but managers are the ones that feel the pressure as well and it’s showing.”

Arsenal had kept pace with title rivals Man City and Liverpool with a run of nine wins in their last 10 league games. However, Merson insisted that the starting XI used against Villa limited Arteta’s ability to influence the game from the bench.

“They’ll be hurting now, Arsenal, and I said before the game that I didn’t like the team selection today,” Merson said. “Stop playing different players, just pick the same team every week that keeps winning matches because you’ve had the wool pulled over your eyes by a decent performance against Bayern Munich in midweek.

“Gabriel [Jesus] comes on, does well, and he [Arteta] thinks he’ll play him instead of Havertz. They’ve won nine of their last 10 with Havertz playing where he was playing and Jorginho playing in his own position and now he changes it - just keep the same team!

“That bench he selected, if the game wasn’t going well, he would turn around and think ‘I haven’t got anyone!’. Usually, he’d have a Trossard or Jesus to bring on and try to change the game but he didn’t.”

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