Arsenal players could be questioning Mikel Arteta, says Ian Wright

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and former player Ian Wright (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images, YouTube)

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has made it clear he thinks that some of the team’s players will have been questioning Mikel Arteta’s selection choices against Manchester City.

The Gunners drew 1-1 at home to Man City thanks to a stoppage time equaliser from substitute Gabriel Martinelli, but many fans and pundits will feel the game was there to be won.

City set up quite defensively at the Emirates Stadium after being thrashed 5-1 there last season, but Arsenal didn’t really take the initiative as many expected.

Arteta started both Martinelli and Eberechi Eze on the bench in a slightly surprising move, and Wright discussed that decision with his fellow pundits on today’s episode of The Overlap.

Arsenal players could be affected by Mikel Arteta’s choices

Wright clearly agreed with the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher that Arteta should have played Martinelli and Eze from the start of this game.

Neville then asked the former Arsenal striker if he felt those surprise calls could also affect the confidence of the rest of the players in the dressing room.

Wright responded by suggesting, if he’s being “honest”, that while players might not be directly asking about the line up, he did suggest they might have been expecting something different.

The pundit said that had happened to him before during his playing days, and he agreed with Neville’s claim that it was essentially a 45 minutes wasted by Arsenal.