Arsenal seem to have extended the contract of 32 year old Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta, Arteta has signed a contract extension which sees him stay at the Emirates for another 12 months and while he can still provide a lot to the club, the decision to give Arteta an extension might not be the smartest decision that Arsenal have made.
Arteta, who has made just 11 appearances for the Gunners this season and has seen injury reduce a lot of his playing time, here are 3 reasons why the decision to extend Arteta’s contract is not the best deal for Arsenal at the moment.
The age factor
Arteta is 32 years old and although he can still put in a good game or two he isn’t the Arteta Arsenal bought from Everton a few seasons back. Arteta’s legs have slowly gone and he never really was the pacey player that people expected him to be. Arteta has been deployed in a deeper role for most of the season and that has not been the best for him or his age since he has to cover more ground and tries to put in a few tackles.
ArtetaWith the legs gone, it might have been better to let his contract run out, even his injury record this season has not been good and this probably is some money wasted down the drain.
Coquelin’s rise
The other reason which should have played on Arsene’s mind when taking a decision on Arteta’s future is the rise of Francis Coquelin. Coquelin has looked like a player who has been a Premier League professional for years rather than a sprightly youngster who has just gotten into the team.
Coquelin’s performances this season have been extremely mature and it seems that Arsenal might have finally got the answer for their defensive midfielder problems with the young player. Arteta wont be able to provide what Colquelin does in the defensive end and probably would end up being on the bench more often than not.
The sheer number of midfielders at Arsenal
Arsenal are blessed with midfielders in the team, they have Wilshere, Chamberlain, Flamini, Ramsey and Rosicky, we are not counting Coquelin since we already spoke about him, for 2 positions in the team. If all the players are fit and raring to go, Arteta would not even get on the bench, let alone in the playing XI.
Arsene could have saved up by not offering a contract extension to the midfielder, which might seem a bit harsh to a player who has given everything for the club but that is football, no time for emotions only time for tough business calls.
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