Mikel Arteta has praised his players for sticking to the plan despite the fan reaction to Arsenal’s short-corner routines on Saturday.
When Arsenal earned their first corner in the opening minutes of Saturday’s Premier League game against Newcastle United, there was plenty of excitement in the stands.
Perhaps people were recalling Gabriel Magalhaes’ towering winner at St. James’ Park, and perhaps that’s why there was audible disappointment when Arsenal decided to go short from that first corner on Saturday.
The fans were even more disappointed when the second corner went short too, and there were mass groans and shouting by the time the third did.
The thing is, that third corner led to Arsenal’s opening goal, and Mikel Arteta has praised his players for ignoring what the supporters wanted and sticking to the plan.
“We have to be very unpredictable in everything we do in the game,” Arteta said. “When you look at the physicality that they have and the way they defend, we believe it was a big opportunity for us there to exploit.
“The crowd reacted in the first and second one in a certain way, which is understandable, but we do things because we believe they are going to give us value.
“To have this — I was going to say another word — big courage in this moment, when the pressure is on, when the reaction is like this, to play (short), that is exactly what I want from the team, because the players have to make the decision they believe is the best.”
Much of the discourse around the Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium in recent months has been overblown.
The fans were very much behind the team at the moments the team let leads slip against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, with the frustrated reactions only occurring after the players had given up their advantages in each case.
The supporters were also on side ahead of the game against Bournemouth earlier this month, responding to Arteta’s calls for an enthusiastic early backing. It wasn’t the fans’ fault the team spoiled the party by going 1-0 down within 17 minutes.
But the groaning during the Newcastle game is a clear example of the fans getting it wrong, and there have been similar cases in recent weeks when David Raya goes short and tries to play out from the back on goal kicks.
A certain portion of the fanbase seem to have decided that they know better about how Arsenal should be taking their set-pieces, but that outlook fails to understand that unpredictability is a huge bonus in such situations.
If Newcastle are fully expecting and prepared for a ball into the box, a short corner may well be the best way to catch them out. As Arsenal proved on this occasion, by scoring their only goal of the game in exactly that manner.
With six or seven games left this season, most Arsenal fans would be better served throwing their support behind the team, rather than trying to shout tactical advice at high-performing professionals from the stands.