What the Premier League is all about: Arteta, give him space! And a bow to Klopp

After the 27th round of the Premier League, nothing major has changed in the fight for the title or salvation. Yet there is still much to be resolved. In our traditional weekly series, we take a look under the hood of Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Nottingham. While also explaining why Gunners fans are criticising Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s 6-0 win over Sheffield.

While Eddie Howe was basically swearing off Newcastle’s wide marauding midfield at every press conference this winter, justifying the Magpies’ losses, Jürgen Klopp is taking action. Apart from the loss to Arsenal in February, nothing has stopped him. He leads the league, has the Carabao Cup and is in the FA Cup.

The understudy is not the biggest problem

The Reds have not been as dominant on the pitch in recent weeks. But that is not primarily the fault of those who have to deputise in other positions. Liverpool can’t fully replace Mohamed Salah in the attack. Luis Diaz and especially Cody Gakpo are far from their top form.

On the other hand, Joe Gomez’s substitution in the middle of midfield is basically on point, as is Bobby Clarke’s league debut in the starting lineup. The 19-year-old midfielder was one of the most dangerous players against Nottingham. And he could get half an hour against Manchester City at the weekend.

Arteta spoiled an otherwise flawless night

Arsenal were 3-0 up after 15 minutes at last-place Sheffield Wednesday, absolutely dominated and added two more shots before half-time. For the third away game in a row they scored five or more goals. And the fans were looking forward to Emile Smith-Rowe finally getting a full second half chance.

But Mikel Arteta pulled the slightly ill Bukay Saku after the break, otherwise leaving his strongest eleven on the pitch. And after a few minutes, the injured Gabriel Martinelli had to come on. Fortunately for him it was probably pain due to the impact of the studs of the kick into the Brazilian’s foot, hence a rather short-term inconvenience.

Even so, there was quite a lot of criticism launched at Arteta. A tough schedule is looming, with Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jusus back from injury and the Gunners both needing to be rostered. The Ghanaian international in particular showed that every extra minute would do him good, he didn’t look at all confident with the ball.

The most disappointing thing anyway is the zero minutes at Sheffield for Smith-Rowe. The young Englishman has shown signs of improvement in recent games, missing only a goal. In a busy schedule including the Champions League, Arteta will need another top ten alongside Martin Odegaard and without match practice, Smith-Rowe won’t get into form.

Source: Premier League