Gael Clichy is seriously concerned about Arsenal transforming their identity in recent seasons, explaining why Mikel Arteta is to blame.
Arsenal have won one FA Cup and two Community Shields since Arteta took charge of the club in December 2019. While that is not the most illustrious record for a club of Arsenal’s size, Arteta has completely turned the Gunners’ fortunes around.
The Spaniard has helped Arsenal to return as title challengers, and they have finished second in each of the last three seasons.
In the early stages of his Arsenal reign, Arteta was instrumental in offloading unwanted and expensive players and bringing through young talents such as Bukayo Saka.
Arteta has been key to Arsenal challenging the elite in both the Premier League and Champions League once again. Although, Arsenal’s style has noticeably changed over the last 18 months.
Initially, the 43-year-old was heavily influenced by Pep Guardiola, whom he worked under at Manchester City, which resulted in an attractive, possession-based style.
But Arsenal are now much more reliant on set-pieces, while they have also been criticised for celebrating draws at other ‘big six’ sides. Clichy is worried Arsenal are moving too far away from Arsene Wenger’s philosophy.
“Arsenal is coming to a place where the idea and identity of Arsene Wenger’s football is not seen much anymore,” the former left-back told Metro.
“We don’t talk about how well Arsenal played these days, we talk about how difficult they are to break down or how impressive they are on set pieces.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic and it’s part of the game you need to exploit, but if we talk about what Arsenal used to be and what Arsenal is today, there’s nothing to compare anymore.
“We have to accept the manager wants something different. And maybe with the wingers and striker we have, we see more of this old-school way.”
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Clichy brutally added: “But we also have to tell it like it is – we have also maybe seen a lack of ambition from Arsenal as a club and from Mikel.
“When you look at that game against Liverpool, you can see a team that is not concerned about winning but a team excited not to lose a game.
“This is very subtle but this is a massive difference for a team that is competing for the title. So hopefully this will change with the players they have now.
“Liverpool started the season very fragile, giving up opportunities. But Arsenal did not exploit that, they did not want to hear it. This is the part where Mikel needs to adjust.
“Yes, you will win points, I have heard him saying how they are the team who have won the most points over the last three years. But you haven’t won anything. It is not a question about points, it is going to those places and getting the win.”
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