Mikel Arteta explains why he persisted with Rob Holding in Man City thrashing

Mikel Arteta stated that he did not feel the need to alter Arsenal’s strategy or lineup against Manchester City last night because of his dedication to the players and techniques that had carried the team to the verge of Premier League triumph.

William Saliba, a crucial defender, is out due to injury, which has coincided with a slump in performance that resulted in a demoralizing 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland, who ran riot against a helpless Gunners backline in February’s FA Cup match, once again gave Rob Holding a hard time, demonstrating his lack of ability as the France international’s stand-in.

Jakub Kiwior, who joined the team in January, was regarded unprepared for a game of this magnitude and intensity, thus Arteta was forced to remain with the 4-3-3 formation that had been so successful up to Saliba’s setback and throw Holding into the fray.

But what actually happened was a seemingly predictable loss that followed a pattern familiar to so many of Arsenal’s previous contests against Pep Guardiola’s unrelenting winning machine, which made another enormous step towards the first leg of the treble.

In response to a question about why he decided against making big team adjustments, Arteta said: “We wanted to tweak a few things, but they were able to execute and scored an early goal.”

‘We wanted to tweak a few things but they were able to execute and scored an early goal.

‘You have to understand where we’re coming from – we have to be loyal to what has brought us all this way.

‘We’ve done it in the past in different ways and that doesn’t guarantee you anything. It’s time to look in the mirror at what we could have done better – I’m the first one – and go into the next game.’

He added: “[Before the game] I saw the team really at it, and really confident that they were going to do something.

‘But the way we started, we were on the back foot straight away and after that, we struggled to cope.

‘We did much better in the second half in many periods but at that point, it’s too late.

‘There were certain moments when we had the possibility [to impose ourselves], but we kept giving the ball away very easily and couldn’t build any momentum. That’s the thing, that wasn’t us and we have to look in the mirror and move on.’