For someone whose style of play is so unobtrusive, Mikel Arteta provokes a lot of heated debate. Below any newspaper match report on an Arsenal game, he is both lambasted as slow and ineffectual, and proclaimed as pivotal in Arsenalâs resurgence. The most obvious view of Arteta is that he was a budget replacement for Cesc Fabregas. The similarities â both are Spaniards who learned their football at Barcelona; both take plenty of free-kicks; both are regarded as creative midfielders â are obvious. But the differences are actually more important. Arteta is not an inferior version of Fabregas. He is actually a subtly different kind of player. Where Fabregas was the creative fulcrum of the side, Arteta plays deeper. He is a solid tackler, intercepts a lot of loose balls and very seldom loses the ball himself. It is no indictment of Arteta that he has only managed two assists so far this season. The brilliance of Alex Song this season illustrates Artetaâs importance. Last campaign, Song had Fabregas and Jack Wilshere for company in central midfield: a powerful trio, certainly, but one that often left Arsenal exposed. But as Arteta is more defensively disciplined than either Fabregas or Wilshere, the pressure on Song has been released: he can go on buccaneering runs safe in the knowledge that Arteta, in his clever way, will cover for him. Songâs spectacular assist for the opener in the crucial game against Borussia Dortmund â in which he beat three players in a run down the left-hand side, before a superb cross was converted by Robin van Persie â was only the most extreme example of his dynamic attacking play this season. In the 16 games Song has played alongside Arteta, he has created seven goals â virtually one every other game. In 128 games over the previous three seasons, Song was only responsible for eight assists. He is now a more influential player than at any time in his Arsenal career, with his forward thrusts offering Arsenal new attacking possibilities. The conclusion is unmistakable: Artetaâs presence â his sheer footballing intelligence â has liberated Song. With Arteta alongside him, Song has become a player he simply couldnât be in the Fabregas days. Arteta, of course, has his limitations. The quality of his set-piece delivery has sometimes been disappointing, while he is certainly not the paciest footballer, lacking the stamina of Scott Parker, whom many Arsenal fans wanted to sign. While Parker would have been a very good fit at Arsenal too, Arteta has one major advantage over him: goal-scoring. He has scored three goals for Arsenal so far but, as he recently acknowledged, should be chipping in more. Artetaâs shooting ability from outside the box should be one way in which Arsenal can reduce their dependency upon Van Persieâs goals. But Artetaâs importance in Arsenalâs revival shouldnât be denied. He does a very specific job â arguably, one which no Arsenal player has done since Gilberto Silva â very well, combining excellent technique and composure on the ball with previously-lacking protection of the defence. That Arsenal leads now have a feeling of permanence is much down to Arteta. === From the Independent.
I found myself agreeing with all the observation, and saying to myself, this Bonstar fellow is very clever...... until I got the end and I saw "From the Independent"
We are reaping the benefits of having a player that knows his game so well that he can react and cover in the middle of a game. Arteta has been a great buy for me because he has made us a solid unit. You can't counter us as easily because you have a player like Arteta who knows where to stand and when to cover. He has taken a few yellow cards for the team. He does it because it stops any counters. It is a massive shame that we had this player playing for a different team when we had to put up with Denilson trying to do this job alongside Song before Jack came along.
I see his points - not sure I would agree though. I'd rather have a DM who stays as a DM and an AM who plays as an AM. these "woolly" boundaries mean we have players who are not especially good at doing anything but average at most things.
We have a 3 man midfield. Arteta for me is clearly a CM. So we have one DM, one CM and an AM in Ramsey. Perfect balance.
It's much better having two holding midfielders who can both defend and go forward. For one thing it gives us more options and makes us less predictable for the opposition.
True. The way Song is playing these days we could even call him a CM at times. Song and Arteta are proper midfield players. Great to have them both in the team.
Well I have to state for the record I am not a fan of DMs, never have been and never will be. I'd much prefer having a traditional CM who can defend and get forward. It seems as though football has changed enough now that this sort of midfielder is a dying breed .. to the detriment of football in general.
I think we got a bargain. 10 million on a player who has changed our midfield dynamic, and actually improved our defense too, what a steal. Teams have spent far more on far less effective players. The words "Chelsea", "Torres", "Liverpool" and "Carroll" spring to mind.
Excellent article. He makes us more dynamic and flexible in midfield. You need players like Arteta who pull the strings from the background in the modern game. Fabregas wouldn't be able to play this role, his defensive play is not as advanced as Arteta's. Fabregas, Wilshere and Song wasn't balanced as much as Wilshere and Song also like going forward, let alone Cesc. No wonder he plays as forward(!) every now and then when he plays for Barca.
deluded gooneies there is a reason arteta was a rangers reject and never got a spain call up and roted on the rubbish side of merseyside he is not good enough if you wanted talent you should have gone for adam and henderson but kenny beat you to it no history remember mellor enough said
I assume this is a joke, and a good one to boot! I wasted both tea and mince pie on my monitor reading that. Bast*rd!
