Mikel Arteta responds to Patrick Vieira’s concerns about Arsenal’s mentality as Bukayo Saka labelled ‘too quiet’ by legend

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira has raised questions over his former club’s mentality after the Gunners’ 3-2 defeat to Manchester United.

The Gunners slipped up in the Premier League title race by coming out on the wrong side of the five-goal thriller on Sunday.

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Mikel Arteta‘s side had the chance to restore a seven-point lead at the top of the table, but Matheus Cunha‘s late strike means their lead over Manchester City and Aston Villa is instead just four points.

Arsenal’s title hopes have taken a hit, and bad memories will potentially start to arise again in fans’ minds.

Arsenal have narrowly missed out on their league silverware since 2004 on multiple occasions in recent years, finishing second in all of the last four Premier League seasons.

That has led to constant doubts over their mentality and ability to get over the line each year, considering they haven’t done so before.

And now, Vieira has brought that topic back up again after a damaging loss to Man United this weekend.

“They’re still four points clear, but there’s still some question about the mental strength of the team,” he started on Sky Sports.

“I think they’ll be really disappointed with the performance, because it’s not just that they lose the game, it’s the way they lose the game.

“There was a lack of creativity, they didn’t create enough. I think Saka or Trossard didn’t produce enough to create danger for United.

“So they need, in this situation, a leader to lift the spirit of the team. There will be this moment where they need somebody to make them understand that when they are on the field they have to play.

“I think this is a team that is full of quality and to play with more energy and take more risks…they’ve got the quality and it was a disappointing performance as I felt that they don’t play with the freedom to express themselves.”

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Arteta’s response

Post-match, Arsenal boss Arteta was asked about Vieira’s comments.

“That’s fine,” he responded. “We accept every opinion, where it’s coming from. They have the right reason to say it.

“At the end, we have to show the mental strength that we have on the pitch when it comes to a match day.”

Arteta also said after the game: “We have to learn from it.

“Defeats are part of winning and you have to take them and remind the players how good they are.

“When you draw or don’t win and lose, that’s when you have to show the togetherness and unity.

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“To get where we want to be, defeats are part of that for us, as for any team.

“We have to do the small things better than we have done today, but sometimes with the goals, you have to give credit.”

‘Saka was too quiet’

Vieira also picked out specific Arsenal players who failed to step up when their team needed them against Man United.

“They just have to go back to the basics,” the French icon said when looking at where the Gunners go from here. “Playing with freedom and expressing themselves.

“Going forward, the strength of this team is creating chances and scoring goals… especially when they’re at home, they’re aggressive with the ball.

“Some of the players need to perform at their best. I think there were too many players who didn’t perform today.

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“It was a must-win game today as it was important to send the message that we want to win and have the performance show that to the rest of the teams in the league.”

When pressed on who he thought didn’t perform well against Man United, Vieira added: “I think Saka was too quiet.

“He’s one of, if not, the best offensive player and in big games like that, you expect him to take the team and to perform.

“[Leandro] Trossard is an important player as well, but he didn’t perform. Up front, [Gabriel] Jesus ran a lot and spent a lot of energy, but you want him to be more focused and inside the box.

“In the midfield, the only one was [Declan] Rice, you can see that he’s winning balls and 1v1s, but there were too many who played below the level, and when that’s against United, it’s difficult to get the result.”

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