Mikel Arteta will surely have been disappointed that his Arsenal side didn’t come away with something from their weekend clash against Manchester City.
Raheem Sterling was the match winner in a tense encounter which the Gunners were still in with a chance of getting something from right until the end of the 90 minutes.
Had the north Londoners started the game with Alexandre Lacazette up front, there’s a cogent argument that they may well have earned themselves at least a point.
One former Man United player certainly wasn’t impressed by Arteta’s team selection for the game.
“I think he is being disrespectful to Lacazette as well. Willian is not a centre-forward,” Andy Cole told talkSPORT, cited by the Daily Mirror.
“If you have got a centre-forward on the bench who is your top goalscorer as well, to turn around and say, ‘Look, I am going to play Willian as the centre-forward. You sit on the bench and watch him play centre-forward’, I think that is very disrespectful.”
Whilst there’s no doubting Willian’s credentials, the Brazilian isn’t an out and out attacker.
That he didn’t manage a shot on goal or complete a successful pass inside City’s penalty box says it all.
It was also another game against a top six side which the Gunners were unable to win, something that’s becoming an all too common theme.
Arsenal are improving, of that there’s no doubt, but Arteta clearly has a lot of work to do.