Mikel Arteta Arsenal truth revealed after shock Eberechi Eze Liverpool criticism

Mikel Arteta has been scrutinised extensively following his Arsenal side’s defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. There are various reasons for this, from the starting eleven to the lack of proactive substitutions and to his answers regarding these in the post-match press conference.

However, one of the other sources of criticism stems from the Spaniard’sown perceived criticism of his new signing, Eberechi Eze. The summer acquisition squandered a chance in the box in the second half to give the Gunners their equaliser minutes after conceding to the wonderous Dominik Szoboszlai's free kick.

“Yeah, you have to put the ball in the back of the net when you have it,” he told Sky Sports when asked how his side takes the next step to win at Anfield and the Etihad Stadium. “We were much better than last year when we drew, much, much better, no difference.

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“And today, when we have three, four, five situations inside the box, one-vs-one, when Ebz is completely through just to finish the action, you have to put those balls in the back of the net if you want to win the game.”

This has received some backlash from fans who argue that in his first game, it was wrong to single out Eze by name. Noni Madueke had three good chances, Gabriel Martinelli spurned a great driving run that ended with a goal kick, and Viktor Gyokeres was caught on his heels in the box after a Martin Odegaard pass caught him out.

The issue with the criticism and to suggest he has singled Eze out is that this isn’t new from Arteta. He has been consistent in criticising players and alluding to others who have not done what he would have hoped.

In the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United last season, Arteta highlighted the missed penalty of Odegaard and how incredible it was that they didn’t win the game. Making reference to Kai Havertz’s missed chances after several glaring mis-hit shots.

"Incredible how you don't win the game," he told reporters. "The dominance, the superiority in relation to the opposition and everything that we did to try to win the game, and that's it.

"We didn't get what we deserved clearly, but there is an element that is about putting the ball in the back of the net.

"We did it once, and with the amount of situations, chances, penalties that we had, we didn't (again). We go home extremely sad, but I cannot be prouder of my players."

Regarding Havertz or Gabriel Jesus, Arteta repeatedly highlighted that the club did not have a striker who could score a high volume of goals. He said this following a 5-0 win over Crystal Palace: “We don’t have a striker that can score 30-40 goals and we have to live with that.”

Go as far back as when players like Alexander Lacazette were leading the line, and even after he had left. When Liverpool beat the Gunners 4-0, Lacazette had a great chance to give the Gunners the lead.

Asked whether manager behaviour on the touchline could influence games after a clash with Jurgen Klopp, with the scoreline goalless, he brought up the Frenchman’s moment several months after the forward departed.

Arteta said: "I don't have a clue. If we would've scored when we had a one-vs-one situation with Lacazette, it wouldn't have affected it. But because we conceded that set-piece and then what happened happens [in the] second half, it did. So I don't know."

Of course, there are more examples, and bluntly, what Arteta said about Eze was true. In that situation, had he finished the action, the scores would have been level, and the context around the game would have changed; perhaps they even nick it late on, as Liverpool then needs to come out more.

There were issues with how Arsenal approached and dealt with the match. The manager highlighting a player who missed a big chance, be it their debut or not, is not something to write home about when it’s simply a continuation of comments from before.

The mistake Arteta should be called out for is if he is comfortable highlighting the mistake by Eze, then take accountability for the lack of proactive changes in the game and the arguable conservative selection when challenged on it post-match. The better argument is not to highlight the Eze comments in isolation, but that Arteta needs to take accountability for his own mistakes if he is willing to publicly highlight his players’ errors.