Mikel Arteta questioned for 'trying to look clever' over Arsenal keeper stance
Mikel Arteta's goalkeeper stance has been questioned by pundit Simon Jordan after the Arsenal manager said he was open to the idea of switching goalkeepers mid-game.
Arteta started the season with Aaron Ramsdale - last season's first choice - continuing between the sticks. For Sunday's win at Everton, though, summer signing David Raya took the England international's place and secured a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory.
After the game, Arteta spoke of the need to mix things up, even suggesting a mid-game goalkeeper substitution was something he had also considered in the past. Former Crystal Palace owner Jordan wasn't convinced, though he did recognise the role of the goalkeeper has changed significantly of late.
“One of [my regrets] is that on two occasions I felt after 60 minutes and 85 minutes in two games in this period to change the keeper in that moment and I didn’t do it," Arteta said after the win. "I didn’t have the courage to do it. And we drew those games and I was so unhappy and someone is going to do it (soon) and maybe it [the reaction] will be, ‘oh! That is strange. Why?’
“Why not? Tell me why not. You have all the qualities in another goalkeeper and you want to do something to change the momentum, do it. It is a regret that I have and my feeling is to get everyone engaged in the team. They have to play regardless of the competition. Do it. That is my message.”
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Changing the starting keeper without any obvious mistake from the man replaced is one thing, but speaking about mid-game tweaks is another entirely. At least that's how Jordan felt when he assessed Arteta's comments on talkSPORT.
Do you agree with Simon Jordan? Have your say in the comments section
David Raya started ahead of Aaron Ramsdale as Arsenal beat Everton (Getty Images)"It feels like a bit of innovation for innovation's sake," Jordan said. "It feels like Arteta is making sure that everyone thinks he's a clever, innovative manager that isn't just following in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola.
"I don't understand the context of this interview and the structure of why he said it and what benefit this wisdom gives us," he added, before stressing his belief that goalkeeper and outfielders are "very different" players. "I'm obviously not against the idea of it if there's good reasons for it, like a set of circumstances where there are specific skillsets that one goalkeeper has over another," he continued.
"Of course you don't just stick with the orthodoxy. Ten years ago, no one would have ever imagined goalkeepers could play the way Ederson plays and does the things that he does, so that's an evolution and a revolution in the expectations.
"People accept now that goalkeepers are right up there. I've always believed... goalkeepers are fundamentally an integral part of a winning side - they win you games, they earn you points, win you leagues at times - and obviously we've seen that now with the price tags of goalkeepers. We're seeing goalkeepers being bought for £75m in [Alisson] Becker, but this sort of innovation feels to me like 'look at me, look how clever I can be."
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