Quote Originally Posted by AFC Leveller View Post
Can anyone tell me what the fuck does the manager see in Arteta? the guy is our weak link and all the top teams target him when we have the ball. Slow, letharig, no confidence, no energy, no strength nothing. He is one of the worst players in this team and doesnt protect the back 4 or break up oppo's play.

Unbelievable that he is vice captain.
He anything but our weak link. He's the fittest player in the team, the best passer and the most consistent player we have. This bullshit going around about him being bullied out of it by the chavs is complete crap. He was overrun, different thing. Overrun because he was having a bad game and his mates were having a mare too. He's not spectacular and he can be frustrating, mostly because his team mates have stopped giving him options. With a player like this the 50 unglamorous passes and the resulting ball retention goes unnoticed, but when he makes an error it sticks out, often because an error in that part of the field is dangerous. Look at players who don't get such a hard time though, Cazorla, Rosicky, Podolski - they kill us when they don't have a good game. Arteta will still put in a shift and still keep most of his shit together even when we are being murdered.

The criticism of this guy has been incredibly unfair.