Former West Ham United goalkeeper, Rob Green has questioned some decisions made by Mikel Arteta during their 1-0 defeat to the Hammers at the Emirates stadium on Saturday.
Arsenal, again, suffered a major setback in their quest for the Premier League title.
Former England and Chelsea goalkeeper, Green raised concerns over the Gunners boss’s decisions, particularly some of the substitutions he made.
Mikel Merino to lead the attack for the Gunners again following the injury crisis they are facing.
However, West Ham defended solidly, making it difficult for the hosts, before Jarrod Bowen’s header put the visitors in front at half-time and that ended up as the only goal of the match.
Despite dominating possession in the second half, the Gunners struggled to create clear-cut chances.
Arteta responded by bringing on Miles Lewis-Skelly and Oleksandr Zinchenko in place of Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori around the hour mark and this decision in particular, did not sit well with Green.
Lewis-Skelly’s reckless challenge on Mohammed Kudus saw him sent off late into the 70th minute and it was the Gunners first home defeat of the season.
Green questioned Arteta’s decision to replace Rice with Zinchenko at a time when his team needed a goal.
Green also expressed concerns about the recent form of Arsenal’s attacking players.
“The substitution were a little strange from Mikel Arteta. Declan Rice gives you a presence in the box with his late runs, Oleksandr Zinchenko brings a bit of guile in midfield but it’s also another two left backs coming onto the pitch.
“The ball gets to certain players in this Arsenal side and they are just not playing well.
“The body shape is wrong when they receive the ball and things break down. Leandro Trossard is one of them,” he stated (via Metro).
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