Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were stunned by Man Utd (Picture: Getty)
David Seaman slammed Mikel Arteta’s ‘strange’ decision to sub off captain Martin Odegaard during Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester United and said the quadruple change ‘disrupted’ the Gunners.
Arteta made four bold changes after United came from a goal behind to take the lead in Sunday’s Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium.
The leaders took a first-half lead through Lisandro Martinez’s own goal but were pegged back before half-time as Bryan Mbeumo capitalised on Martin Zubimendi’s error.
United, who have improved greatly under caretaker manager Michael Carrick, turned the game on its head when Patrick Dorgu smashed home a superb goal.
It was shortly after Dorgu’s strike that Arteta decided to ring the changes and bring on Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres, Mikel Merino and Ben White.
Arsenal skipper Odegaard was one of the players to make way and Seaman believes that was a ‘strange’ decision from Arteta that ‘disrupted the team.
The Gunner did level the match in the 84th minute through second-half substitute Merino but then saw Manchester United go down the other end and Matheus Cunha score a brilliant winner.
Get your football fix
Don’t want to miss the week’s biggest football stories? Metro’s exclusive football newsletter, In The Mixer, is your essential guide.
From the latest transfer rumours and managerial moves to analysis of the biggest games and a lot more, our experts have you covered.
Sign up here, it’s an open goal.
Martin Odegaard was subbed off in the second half (Picture: Getty)
Asked about Arteta’s second-half changes, Seaman said on Premier League Productions: ‘I was shocked if I’m honest.
‘It was 2-1 at the time, it was almost a knee-jerk reaction to the second United goal, I don’t know why but it brought a bit of tension into the crowd.
‘You’re taking off your captain and he didn’t look very happy about it. It was a real surprise for me because he’s our playmaker, to bring him off then changed everything because Declan [Rice] had to drop back and then Eze is coming on who hasn’t done a lot for Arsenal yet.
@metrosportuk Are Man United BACK?! 💥 Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-2 in the Premier League after two unbelievable goals from Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha, and a rare poor performance from the Gunners at the Emirates. #manchesterunited #arsenal #matchreaction #dorgu #carrick ♬ original sound – Metro Sport
‘It was a strange substitution and bringing four on as well really disrupts the moment of the team.’
Ex-Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves also disagreed with the decision to take off Odegaard, saying: ‘I was surprised as well.
‘I love Eze but Odegaard is the one to pick a pass because United were sitting deep. Eze isn’t that player, he’s a dribbler and there was no space in the middle of the pitch.
Manchester United impressed at the Emirates Stadium (Picture: Getty)
‘Odegaard could’ve picked a pass, it was very telling his body language, he was surprised he was coming off. I don’t think you should take the captain off, you need his presence.’
Odegaard was one of the Arsenal players to front up after a deflating defeat to Manchester United that leaves the Gunners just four points clear in the title race.
‘It was not good enough from us and we need some time to analyse it,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘We should’ve done better but now is the time to stick together more, keep working, push each other more and bounce back.
‘First half we were the better team, we scored a goal and had control but a lot of giveaways. We managed to get to 2-2 but then they scored straight away.
‘It’s never going to be easy in this league, we know that. I thought we were well prepared for the game, we started the game well and in the second we saw the momentum change a bit.
‘The performance definitely should’ve been better from us and we have to take the lesson and keep working.
‘Every game is a big challenge, this is part of football. We are still top of the league so we have to keep going and bounce back straight away, that’s the only medicine.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Comment now
Comments
Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google
Add as preferred source
