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ART WANTS GOALS
MIKEL ARTETA insists age should not be a barrier to breaking down nightmare defensive blockades.
For the third time in a row Arsenal can expect to face exactly that when they entertain Newcastle at home in the league tomorrow night.
Last Saturday it was Steve Bruce’s park-the-bus Geordies in the FA Cup – and it took Arteta’s holders until extra time to finally hit the back of the net.
Then on Thursday at The Emirates, stubborn Crystal Palace were the ones frustrating the Gunners as their rearguard action produced a goalless bore.
That stalemate ended the North Londoners’ three-match winning revival in the Premier League – and raised questions about who and what was to blame for the team firing blanks so often.
But Arteta is adamant that whether it is an experienced striker, like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, or a young starlet, such as Emile Smith Rowe, is irrelevant.
As far as the Gunners boss is concerned, if you are good enough then you are old enough when it comes to unlocking those stubborn defences found in English football.
Spanish coach Arteta, whose side were 11th coming into the weekend, said: “It doesn’t make a lot of difference between old and new.
“They are all good players who should be able to contribute in this way. Because they are young doesn’t mean they have less responsibility.
“They are picked in the 11 because they deserve to play more than somebody on the bench. But I don’t make the distinction with ages.
“Everybody has to have the approach to the game that, ‘I am here and I’m going to win it for the team.’”
Pressed further on the lack of impact from skipper Aubameyang – he has scored just four times in 13 games since signing a new deal in September – Arteta refused to put the boot in on the Gabon ace.
The ex-Everton and Arsenal playmaker added: “When you look at these games and how they’re won, a lot of times it’s because of individuals as opposed to collective actions.
“It’s a moment of spark that opens up these sorts of games – and then the game gets much easier and where you want it.
“We missed that in the match against Palace. But it isn’t just Auba.
“It was a lot of players giving a lot of easy balls away without any real pressure.
“For me, more than anything, it was about a lack of freshness.
“We’ve had a lot of games, we’ve had a lot of fixtures.
“But it is what it is. We cannot use that as an excuse.”