Why Arsene Wenger should drop Mikel Arteta against Manchester City

Mikel Arteta

Arsene Wenger could be facing the prospect of dropping his captain for the second time in a calendar year.

Earlier in 2013, Wenger was forced to remove Thomas Vermaelen from his starting line-up for the good of the team. Vermaelen’s erratic displays had begun to be something of a liability, and Wenger’s patience had grown untenably thin.

Since then, Vermaelen has remained as club captain, but Mikel Arteta has worn the armband on the field.

For the most part, he has worn it with class and distinction. Arteta is a famously consistent performer – which makes his recent downturn in form all the more worrying.

In Arsenal’s last two games, Arteta has looked well off the pace – often literally. His 31-year-old legs have struggled to keep pace with younger, fitter midfields.

The issue was brought in to stark contrast during Arsenal’s game with Everton, when Arteta came face-to-face with Everton’s effervescent young tyro, Ross Barkley.

Arteta simply couldn’t shackle Barkley, who emerged as the game’s star performer.

Arteta won just two of his five attempted tackles during the game. The Spaniard simply didn’t seem to have the power required to win his duels. This was particularly costly in the case of Everton’s equalising goal: Barkley span away from Arteta to begin the move that ended with Deulofeu’s expert finish.

A glance at Barkley’s Heat Map from the Arsenal game is also telling:

Barkley flourished in the very areas that Arteta is supposed to protect. All too often, Everton were granted too much space between midfield and attack. Arsenal’s centre-back pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker had to be at their very best to prevent the Toffees from dominating the scoreline as well as possession.

The areas where Barkley did most damage are the same areas where Yaya Toure operates for Manchester City. When you consider Toure’s relative pedigree and experience, granting him that kind of space to roam is a hugely worrying prospect for Arsenal.

Given his poor showing against Everton, one might have imagined Arteta would be rested in midweek against Napoli. In fact, he didn’t play the full match, but only because he was sent off after collecting two clumsy bookings. Arteta’s leggy display only served to compound the concerns which began after the Everton game.

Arsenal can not afford to make those kinds of mistakes at the Etihad. With Mathieu Flamini and Aaron Ramsey both capable of filling the deep-lying midfield role, Arsene Wenger may be considering taking the troubled Arteta out of the firing line.