BIG boost for Arsenal as Arteta returns!!
With so many talented midfielders now at Arsenal it’s a difficult task to see what our best trio is to line up with, and with the likes of Wilshere, Ozil and Cazorla all being quite similar it certainly doesn’t make the task any easier. However one player that we seem to have forgotten about so far this season is a player that has been very influential for the Gunners over the past two years.
Mikel Arteta often goes unnoticed at Arsenal because although he plays a very important role at the club, the vice-captain seems to do everything right and so there’s no chance to scrutinise any mistakes. Therefore he stays out of the media and although he deserves to be praised, there seems to be very little of exactly that going on and its actually quite a disappointing fact.
Arteta is influential both on and off the pitch because his actions on the pitch help us win games, whilst off the pitch he acts as a leader and has in fact been our captain quite often over the course of the past year because of injuries to Vermaelen. However this time around its Arteta who has been injured, but Arsene Wenger has given some good news in his latest press conference ahead of Sunday’s game vs Stoke City, suggesting that Arteta may be fit to return for the Gunners.
Wenger said: “We have no injuries from the Marseille game. The only player who could come back in the squad is Arteta, who comes back into full training today [Friday]. I’ll have to make the decision about him on tomorrow [Saturday] morning.
“He is very influential and he’s a leader – one of the leaders of the team and he’s a technical leader as well. We are happy to have him back as well because at the moment with the number of injuries we have, we are a bit short and we have plenty of games in front of us, so it’s good news.”
Although Flamini has proved to be very good for Arsenal so far this season, I definitely think Arteta should take his place in midfield. What do the fellow Arsenal fans think?
Arteta must rotate
Although Arteta is a very influential figure and a mainstay in our squad, I think he should slug it out with the likes of Ramsey, Wilshire, Ozil and Carzola. I don’t think our new found solidity in defence is a miracle. It is due to the introduction of our unnoticed and unsong hero, Flamini. Have you seen his interception rate, he has been the balance between our midfield and defence. Unlike Song and co, he is not interested in scoring goals or making assists, he is just interested in intercepting our opponents count-attack and solidifying our defence that has been susceptible to attacks in recent times. Leave Flamini alone!!!
I would stick with Flamini for the Stoke Ruffians.
Arteta should come in only at the later stages of the game to get a feel. He should probably start alongside Vermaelen and montreal in the Carling cup games, to be the leaders among the younger players.
First team:
Szczensy
Sagna Mertesacker Koscielny Gibbs
Arteta Ramsey
Ozil
Walcott Giroud Cazorla
Reserves:
Viviano, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Montreal, Wilshere, Rosicky, Podolski, Flamini, Chamberlain, Diaby, Frimpong