Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has expressed some frustration over the constant talk of the departure of Robin van Persie overshadowing new signings Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.
The predictable negative comments by media and critics alike regarding Arsenal and their inability to score have come rolling in thick and fast with Podolski and Giroud still yet to adapt to life in the Premier League, which of course is understandable after only two matches.
Arteta is quoted as saying by The Mirror:
Santi Cazorla has been very good. He finds it comfortable in the free role and we need to get him on the ball because he can have a big influence. Lukas Podolski was really good on the left today. He was coming inside and causing problems too. Giroud had some chances as well.
All the talk about Robin all of the time… you can get frustrated. Last year, Fabregas left. We all know what that meant.
We need to give them some time and not put them under pressure. You can’t do in two games what other people have done in eight years. It is impossible. We have to be calm.
Robin is obviously a really good player, he scored almost every time we played in the league last year. It’s tough.
Look, it’s two games. In fact, he [Olivier Giroud] has started just one game. [The constant comparisons are] not fair on him.
He has played 90 minutes here. He played 25 minutes in the last one. A striker has to be relaxed. He doesn’t need to be tense.
Of course. You can’t replace Robin. We know that – it doesn’t matter who is brought in.
Manchester United went for him at the age of 29. What does that say? There aren’t many bigger talents in the world.
To replace Robin is an impossible thing because he’s a special player. You can’t ask anyone to be as good as him, I don’t think it’s possible.
It could have changed just like that. Last week, Olivier had a massive chance to win the game and he would have been the hero. And Lukas had a chance here.
Personally, I’m happy because they look good.
We need to find the right balance. You might be more creative, but you may become more open and concede more goals to get the right results.
We have done enough to win both games, we have created enough. For me we have lost two points.
But we looked really organised too and I can’t remember a chance from them really. We can take some positives but we just need to get back to scoring too.
As I said in the last two match reports, it is always going to be a matter of time before the new signings are going to fire, particularly when all three of the new signings make up the bulk of our attack.
When you couple this with the fact that each player has never played with each other and also that each player came to Arsenal from completely different football leagues, it only points to the conclusion that it is unlikely they are going to fire straight away. I am confident they will do the business for Arsenal once they become comfortable with each other, considering what they have achieved in the past.
In terms of Van Persie, Arteta is right in saying we have to forget about the past. Talking about how things could have been if Van Persie was still at Arsenal is obviously going to get us nowhere. It would be better to talk about what we can do with the players we have at present.
What do you guys think? Are you happy with the signings and do you think they will become a success? Feel free to leave a comment below or discuss the new signings in the allArsenal.com forums and go into the draw to win a Arsenal away shirt!
Facebook Comments
COMMENTS