Arteta Bottled It By Not Starting Dowman in Arsenal Win vs Everton

· GiveMeSport

Arsenal may have got the win, but Mikel Arteta bottled it against Everton and the Gunners won't keep getting away with it.

Arsenal claimed a seventh win in eight Premier League games this season to close the gap on Man City at the top of the table to just goal difference, thanks to a 2-0 win over Everton.

Goals from centre-backs Ezri Konsa and Gabriel in each half were enough to hand the Gunners all three points, in a game they dominated from start to finish and never looked like dropping points in.

But despite the strong performance, there were a few players who failed to impress during the game, which will undoubtedly leave fans and Arteta , who strive for perfection, looking at ways they can improve ahead of upcoming games.

While Arsenal are known to have the best defence in the league, and maybe in world football, their attack has been underwhelming for a while now.

Viktor Gyokeres is yet to find the back of the net in all competitions, while Kai Havertz hasn't scored since the 2-1 win over Chelsea back in September. The team were also rocked by the injury suffered by talisman and star forward Bukayo Saka in midweek, with the winger now set to miss between six and eight weeks of action with a thigh problem .

That has seen Arteta's options in attack limited, and with both Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke struggling for form this season, starting both was a major gamble against a David Moyes team that is notoriously difficult to break down.

Eze scored in midweek against Bayern Munich after coming on as a substitute, but he was poor against Forest before that, being substituted at half-time, and has scored just three times for the club since March. Madueke, meanwhile, was awful against Bayern in midweek but scored the winner against Forest after replacing Eze. The strike took a big deflection on the way through, and was also just his third goal since March.

Therefore, it was no surprise to see both players struggle massively against Everton, as Arteta played them on opposing wings in Saka's absence.

According to Sofascore , Madueke took three shots but didn't hit the target with any of them, failed to complete a successful cross (0/2 attempts), and successfully completed just 2/7 dribble attempts. He also lost possession 13 times, and won only 3/15 duel attempts in the game.

Eze, meanwhile, had two shots but didn't hit the target, failed to complete a successful cross (0/2 attempts), only attempted one dribble, lost possession 14 times, and won just 1/5 duel attempts.

That should have been easy to see coming, and Arteta could and should have been braver by starting Max Dowman in place of Bukayo Saka instead.

It's clear that Arteta wanted some seniority and experience in his team against Everton, and that's fine. But Dowman, one of the best young players in world football , has consistently shown that he is ready for more first-team football, and this was a great chance to give him an opportunity.

Everton don't pose much of a threat in open play, and with their low block, Dowman's creativity and dribbling would have been the perfect remedy to breaking them down. Both Eze and Madueke have been better coming off the bench in recent weeks, too, meaning that if he didn't deliver from the start it would be an easy substitution to make.

Instead, Arteta bottled it and didn't use the forward who has shown the best performance of anyone in the squad so far this season.

With a busy schedule and huge games against Fleetwood, Liverpool, and Slavia Prague to come in the next 10 days, Dowman should be given an opportunity to shine, and if he takes it, then Arteta must show some bravery and keep him in the team.

It was a tough afternoon for the Gunners, who only just squeezed past their visitors to make up ground in the Premier League title race.

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