Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been criticized for overthinking things by making so many substitutions during his side’s 3-1 loss to Manchester United yesterday.
The Gunners were a bit unlucky to lose their unbeaten run at the start of this season, with Gabriel Martinelli seeing an early goal disallowed too harshly by VAR, while Arteta’s side in general seemed more likely to win, particularly at the start of the second half. .
Still, things fell apart for Arsenal quickly after Bukayo Saka scored the equaliser, and Crooks believes Arteta showed a lack of patience at that key stage of the game.
The Spanish manager made many 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 win.
Speaking about where Arsenal went wrong against Man Utd, Crooks said: “For 60 minutes, Arsenal played some of the best football I’ve seen played this season.
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“Maybe with a little more patience from their manager, the Gunners could have come up with something.
“Having five substitutes doesn’t mean you have to use them all.”
Arsenal can certainly be very encouraged by the way they played at Old Trafford, although it could also be a concern for their fans that Arteta couldn’t keep his cool and manage the game when he needed to.
