Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta admits one of his players was a “liability” against PSV Eindhoven, while another star has a “very unusual” quality.
The Gunners have been ravaged by injuries to key players this season in a difficult campaign. They are fifth in our open-play goals table this term, but they scored seven goals in a freak 7-1 win against PSV in the Champions League in midweek.
There was still a controversial moment in this match as teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly was fortunate to avoid a red card for two bookings.
Lewis-Skelly’s first booking was a tad harsh, but he escaped a “very clear” second yellow card and was subbed off shortly after by Arteta.
Speaking on this incident, Arteta admits Lewis-Skelly was a “liability” and he has a “lesson to learn”, while he praised “very unusual” teammate Riccardo Calafiori.
“It was quite clear that we had a liability there with the yellow card and the next action,” Arteta said during his press conference on Friday.
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“So it was a moment to not take any risk and learn from that experience and manage the game for so long especially with how important this competition is.
“So it is a lesson to learn for him for sure, we will support and help him but the line is really thin in this sport and he has to learn that. He is very intelligent, extremely demanding of himself.
“He is a professional and he has a great environment around him and he is here to learn as well.”
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On Riccardo Calafiori, he added: “He certainly has that capacity to flow in areas that for a defender is very unusual. That is something that caught my eye.
“The other is that he is very chaotic, very unpredictable to play against.”
When asked about Arsenal’s match against Man Utd on Sunday being his 200th in charge, he said: “It’s gone fast.
“Probably the number one would be sitting here on the first day.
“There are many others, but the other night was up there with one of the best because of the way we did it. The trophy for sure, the FA Cup.”
On people comparing him to Arteta, Ruben Amorim said: “I will not have the time the Arteta had. I feel that [Arsenal] is a different club.
“It is a different club, in that aspect, the way how Arteta dealt with that [the issues] is an inspiration for everybody.”