Theo Walcott slams Mikel Arteta decision with one Arsenal question, ‘I’m not normally critical of…’

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has come under fire for his team selection once again, as his team scraped a draw against Manchester City.

The Gunners went behind early on through Erling Haaland, with the team struggling to create many clear-cut chances.

Changes were made throughout the match, as Mikel Arteta called upon the improved strength in depth within his squad.

They seemingly worked, as substitutes Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Martinelli combined, with the former playing a delightful ball over the top for the latter to latch onto and tuck into the back of the net.

Arsenal will be glad to rescue a point from oblivion, but there is still a feeling that it was a missed opportunity to land all three.

That has led Theo Walcott to criticise the manager after Arsenal’s draw with Man City.

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Theo Walcott criticises Mikel Arteta’s tactics after Arsenal draw with Man City

Despite earning a point late on, there will be a feeling that it was still two points dropped for Arsenal in the end.

Gary Neville criticised Arteta’s line-up against Man City, questioning whether the head coach went too defensive.

It’s a similar sentiment that former Arsenal man Theo Walcott has, as he questioned the tactics on display from the manager.

He said on BBC’s Match of the Day 2: “My question would be, why did it take until the 90th minute for Arsenal to go on the offensive, why not from the start of the game?

“I’m not normally critical of Arteta, but it feels like he got away with one today. It felt like he admitted he made a mistake with his team selection by making those two subs at half time, while his other substitutions came really late on.”

It’s a bold statement on the manager, who could reflect on it as an important point picked up, or a disappointing two points dropped by the end of the season.

Now the gap to Liverpool stands at five points, with some catching up to do early on in the season.

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Mikel Arteta defends Arsenal team decision against Manchester City

While many will point to the bench and the starting team and question the decisions from Arteta, he believes it was the right line-up to get a result.

Speaking to the press after the game about whether it was a “safety first” team, he responded: “I leave that to you, but for me it’s a lot of attacking players in that team, yes.”

He later went on to defend the midfield selection, which featured Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, claiming it was the right decision to start it.

The questions will persist around whether Arsenal need to lift the handbrake and attack more, though, and it won’t stop until they win every game or look more attacking while getting results.