Merson says Arteta did ‘best bit of management he will ever do’ with Aubameyang
Don’t wait around for updates – sign up for our daily football email newsletter today!
Mikel Arteta was right to punish Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and has earned massive respect for dropping him.
I thought what he did in leaving Aubameyang on the bench for the North London Derby after being late for a team meeting was absolutely brilliant.
It’s the best bit of management he will ever do in his whole career.
Arteta has to think of the future of the club – and the future of the club is players like Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka.
If they are sitting in that meeting and Aubameyang strolls in late and you let him play in the game, you’re opening the door for them to do it too.
Now they know. Now, they will never be late. Because Arteta has stamped his authority on it.
He will have earned the respect of all his players doing that – even people like David Luiz and Granit Xhaka who have been around the block.
I guarantee you there will have been players coming out of that meeting going: “Wow!” because that is a big deal, dropping your captain and go-to guy.
I’m sure Aubameyang didn’t mean to be late but there’s no excuse really. I bet there were players coming from further away than him who got there on time.
Don’t blame the traffic – just leave earlier.
I was never late. I think it’s disrespectful. And when you’re the captain of the club you’ve got to set an example.
I did all sorts of things wrong in my career. I got in at five in the morning sometimes after drinking all night – but I was never late for training.
The only time it ever happened was when I was at Middlesbrough and I had a long commute and the only train I could get wouldn’t get me there quite on time.
Top trending sport stories right now
But I’d told the club beforehand and they gave me permission. I was never late without the club’s permission. It was just the only train I could catch.
It meant I would be fined every day it happened, but I said I’d pay for the Christmas do instead and they were okay with that.
I was almost late once travelling to the studio for a Sky TV job and was absolutely devastated – but I still just made it on time.
Hopefully Aubameyang has learned his lesson. He’s been punished so he should be playing because once it’s dealt with it’s over.
Arteta made a statement by dropping him – and he did the right thing. He didn’t drop him from the squad and I think he was right to do that.
Mikel Arteta forced to make desperate demand to Arsenal stars in final 20 minutes
Leaving him on the bench was punishment enough. Now, he’s sent a message that he won’t stand for it.
If you want to be a success as a manager you have got to be strong and Arteta has shown that he is.
His players will not cross him now because they know he will not stand for it and you need that level of respect.
I think it was a good thing what he did. It will help him in the long run – and it’s fantastic for young players like Saka and Smith Rowe.
Werner needs to be looking over his shoulder
Timo Werner could be on borrowed time for Chelsea because it’s not working out for him at all.
I think he makes too many bad decisions when he gets into good positions. For the money they paid for him, he’s a rough diamond who needs to work on his game.
I don’t know if he got by on pace alone in Germany but he hasn’t scored enough goals for Chelsea and he’s missed loads of chances.
Now he’s playing on the wing and I know he helped make a goal against Atletico Madrid with a good cross.
Chelsea hero Eden Hazard 'may never play football again' on back of ankle surgery
But there times you watch him and he goes on a run and tries to cross it when there’s no-one in the box and the defender blocks it anyway.
I think Chelsea will sign a proper striker this summer and I think they will use him as a makeweight.
It makes sense to offer him to Borussia Dortmund as part of a deal for Erling Haaland.
Dortmund will need a replacement if they sell Haaland and Werner is ready-made and proven in the Bundesliga. He would probably appeal to them.
Don't miss a thing with our football updates!
Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?
Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!
From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox – don't miss a thing.
How do you sign up?
It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.
And that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top news stories every single morning.
You can find out more information on our email newsletter on this link here.
Everton won't roll over for Man City
Everton can end Manchester City’s dreams of the Quadruple this weekend.
City are flying. They have the league title wrapped up and I’d be shocked if Tottenham beat them in the Carabao Cup final.
But I do think Everton will test them in the FA Cup. They just need to score first, because City leave gaps when they’re chasing the game.
When Everton scored against them in the league game last month, they looked like they had the belief to go on and win.
Gareth Southgate's “lazy” Trent Alexander-Arnold decision slammed by Liverpool fans
But the half time whistle killed their momentum and City ended up winning 3-1.
I still think Everton have the weapons to hurt them though. They just need a bit of luck and for everybody to be on their game.
Everton need to make it a fight. They can win this game even if James Rodriguez isn’t fit in my opinion.
They just need to get the ball up to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison as quickly as they can and make it a battle.
READ MORE: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer delivers Sir Alex Ferguson's hairdryer to shake up Man Utd stars
READ MORE: Jamie Carragher savaged by Micah Richards and Alex Scott with Premier League medals
- Arsenal FC
- Premier League
- Mikel Arteta
Source: Read Full Article