When public pressure on Kroenke, Arsenal’s American owner, was pressing down hard, Mikel Arteta was turned on to give the team a face lift. The Spanish coach, who was facing his first experience as a coach after three years as Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, began a renewal of the squad that is paying off even sooner than expected.
Of the first eleven that Arteta lined up, only one remains in the squad. Counting on the bench, two. The first, Saka, is still a starter, but that Boxing Day in 2019 in Bournemouth he was a left back. The second, Smith-Rowe, was one of the players who refreshed the squad over the next two seasons. Both have been friends since they were little, having shared a team in all the lower categories of the quarry.
Ramsdale, Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Odegaard, Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Martinelli, all of them of the eleven type, do not exceed 25 years of age.
And beyond these two home players, Arteta handed over the team to a group of very young players who have been given continuity and confidence when many did not. Ramsdale, Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Odegaard, Saka, and Martinelli, all of them of the eleven type, do not exceed 25 years of age. As important substitutes are Tomiyasu (24 years old), Smith-Rowe (23), Fábio Vieira (23) or Nketiah (24).
Now, all of these players are reaching the prime of their careers. Together they went through eighth and fifth place in the league before finishing second last season. Arteta continued to trust them, even giving Odegaard the captaincy, a great bet for the club that is responding, with a style closer to empathy with its players than to the authority of the traditional coach. Only three years and seven months had passed since he said goodbye to the Emirates dressed in shorts until he returned with the tracksuit.
2023-08-12 03:29:38
#Arsenal #Goliath
