Where Exactly Does Mikel Arteta Fit In At Arsenal?

Arsenal are a side currently flooded with midfield ability. While Mathieu Flamini, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky can all play in the middle, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla are the ones doing most of the creating. However, there is one man who I feel a bit sorry for, and that’s Mikel Arteta, who was incredible last season.

The Spain international took up a deeper role than he was previously used to, but flourished all the same. This season he has fulfilled the same role, though with Mathieu Flamini coming into the club and Aaron Ramsey producing some remarkable displays, he has found it harder to hold down a place.

Arteta has nine full Premier League games to his name this season and has a pass completion of 92%, but for me he is a bit lost. What I mean by that is he isn’t as defence-minded or combative as Flamini, and he’s not so strong going forward with the ball as Wilshere, so it leaves him a little out of place.

He seems a bit lightweight when going into his tackles, and although his positioning is often on song, he has been caught out at times this season. Crystal Palace springs to mind.

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a solid player, but I am not so sure where he fits into the side, exactly.