Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during a training session
Mikel Arteta has warned his free-scoring Arsenal side not to expect a repeat this weekend
Mikel Arteta has watched Arsenal channel their inner James Bond by scoring 0-0-7 in their last three games.
And as he gave the Gunners another licence to thrill at Old Trafford on Sunday the Gunners boss was amused by the parallel. Pointing his fingers, he fired an imaginary Walther P99 like Bond and said: “A good analogy - now, boom!”
Stirred, not shaken, by two consecutive blanks in the Premier League, Arsenal ’s 7-1 romp against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League has given them hope of renewed firepower in their pursuit of distant leaders Liverpool in the title race.
But Arsenal godfather Arsene Wenger used to warn that feast was often followed by famine, as Liverpool found out for themselves after trouncing Manchester United 7-0 two years ago this week. The following weekend, they rocked up at lowly Bournemouth and lost 1-0.
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Arteta is wary of Arsenal going down the same path, saying: “Understanding why you score goals, and consistently providing those moments and those situations is what makes it possible to happen again.
“But we know Sunday is going to be a very different game and we are going to have to find different ways to hurt Man United. Obviously it was a great night for us (in Eindhoven), in an important competition where we have a lot of hope on it, and the way we did it lifted everybody.
“That's the past, unfortunately, so it's about what we do today, the preparation for tomorrow, and try to replicate a great performance again on Sunday.”
One dilemma facing Arteta is whether to restore Myles Lewis-Skelly to the starting line-up after the 18-year-old full-back was hooked, after barely half an hour, against PSV to save him from a possible second yellow card.
Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal hugs Mikel Arteta after being substituted
Arteta subbed Myles Lewis-Skelly against PSV after just 30 minutes
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MLS had already been sent off twice this year, once erroneously, and Arteta revealed he’s had a heart-to-heart with the teenager to explain his move. The Gunners boss said: “I think it was quite clear that we had a liability there, with the yellow card and the next action, so it wasn't a moment to take any risk.
“It’s a lesson to learn for him, for sure. We will support and help him, but the line is really thin in sport, and he needs to understand that. He’ll learn quickly because he's very intelligent, he's extremely demanding of himself.”
Arteta waited more than 48 hours for his debrief with Lewis-Skelly on the training ground and he revealed: “It was only today that I did that. When the dust has settled and we can talk openly.
“What can we learn from that situation? How can we expose the team? What are the things that we have to try to avoid without losing his essence as a player?
“That’s what we have to do – understand where that line is - because he is a superb player, he has attitude, he has courage, what he transmits to the team. Certainly we have to maintain that.
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“It’s just about understanding the risks and rewards - what part of the pitch you are in and when you have to bet certain things that can give you big rewards and, sometimes guys, stay away from that bet because it is not good for us.
“You have to apply defensive principles that are very clear to most of the time have the best possibility to win the ball and don't get exposed. If you don't do that, at that level, big problem.”
Arteta transmitted less warmth when asked why 17-year-old starlet Chido Obi-Martin was allowed to leave the Emirates and join United last summer. He claimed: “I wasn't too involved in that decision. Obviously, when a player decides that the best pathway for him is to leave, there's not much you can do.
“It’s very unfortunate because we want to keep our players from the academy and to be very successful with the first team. With Chido I saw a massive goal threat, an attitude and love to be inside the box and a capacity to score in many different ways. That was him.
“But to persuade a player to stay, he has to be willing to be with us and commit to us and I don’t know specifically what happened. Both parties will feel very different about it. The reality is that he decided to move. It depends on the reason why they want to go somewhere else.”
Chido Obi Martin swapped Arsenal for Old Trafford
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The last time Arsenal went to Old Trafford, on the penultimate weekend of the season, they chiselled out a 1-0 win to take the title race to the final day. The Theatre of Dreams became the theatre for streams when a torrential storm breached the roof and turned parts of the ground Into a babbling brook.
Ruben Amorim has encountered more stormy waters since succeeding Erik ten Hag, but Arteta refused to compare notes on his inheritance at Arsenal and the Portuguese manager’s struggle at United.
“They are very different situations, but massive respect for Ruben, for Man United what they are trying to do as well. Every situation is different, but I look after my garden, my club. What the rest do, they try to do their best thing and that’s it.”
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