Mikel Arteta's cautious approach could cost Arsenal the title – he must take the handbrake off

Mikel Arteta signed turbo-charged forwards this summer but he keeps leaving the handbrake on.

Arsenal blew a big chance to beat Manchester City on Sunday and, even after salvaging a draw, there should be frustration over Arteta’s tactics. Two dropped points could cost them the title. It begs the question: is Arteta scared to lose? Managers who go safety first can end up being frightened of actually winning.

Arteta has done a fabulous job at Arsenal since taking over in December 2019. He has completely transformed the club. But this season is about winning a major trophy. It has to be. And you will not do it with a midfield trio of Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino. All terrific players, but not the right chemistry to go all out to win.

They tried it at Liverpool and came away from Anfield with nothing other than Arteta insisting they had better stats. You do not win titles by losing games to your main rivals.

READ MORE: Arsenal and Liverpool given clear verdict after Jamie Carragher squad depth claim

READ MORE: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta bailed out by Gabriel Martinelli after safety-first approach failed

And it almost feels like the more Arteta is told something is not right, the more stubborn he becomes and the more he likely to dig in to try and prove everyone else wrong. That is probably why he picked that same midfield against City. And it looked flat, short of inspiration and missing forward drive. It missed a No.10, a creative spark and a player to unlock City’s resolute defence.

Martin Odegaard was injured. But what about Eberechi Eze? Why sign him if you are not going to start him in big games? What on earth is Ethan Nwaneri thinking? He turned down huge offers - most notably Borussia Dortmund - to stay and barely gets a look-in.

Noni Madueke was clearly Arsenal’s best player in the first half and, to be fair, Arteta did suggest he felt an injury so was subbed. But Leandro Trossard was an odd pick.

And Viktor Gyokeres clearly struggles against big teams. He will get goals but as a flat track bully. They signed the former Coventry striker from Sporting Lisbon for £64m. And you can take the boy out of Coventry but you can’t take the Coventry out of the boy.

He looks very raw and isolated. That midfield gave him no service. This is an out-and-out goalscorer who needs service. He got nothing at Liverpool and he got scraps against City. Look at the games he scored in. They had creativity in midfield.

Merino was hooked at half time and on came Bukayo Saka and Eze. By then, Arsenal were chasing the game. City had a lead to hold onto. Pep Guardiola even laughed off the fact that City had parked the bus for the first time in nearly 10 years in charge. To be fair, Guardiola has a fair bit of credit in the bank when it comes to playing the beautiful game.

That was a decent result for City. But a bad one for Arsenal because they are now five points behind Liverpool and people are already asking whether Arteta’s men can catch them. Arsenal spent £300m in the summer - a fair chunk of that went on forwards - and yet Arteta still looks for control.

The Gunners were not great to watch last season. Arteta wanted to strangle games rather than actually go and win them. Arsenal were such great fun when they first stepped up in the 2022/23 season to be title contenders. They played with a freedom and energy which entertained.

They tried to exert more control in 2023/24 but were still good. Last season, it was methodical, all about set-pieces and Arteta’s buzzword: control.

Arsenal will not live up to the tag of being the most likely challengers unless Arteta takes the handbrake off and gives his players freedom to entertain and win.

Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.