ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

if you stop Arteta....

Something several people have said to me as a criticism of our boys is that if the opposition manages to stop Mikel from playing, they stop Everton from winning. From what I have seen this season, it does appear that opposition managers have made stopping the Spaniard their mission priority when they play us and most notably in the last several games Mikel has been rather quiet and the side has also been sluggish.

I'm starting to suspect that our wonderful result against Spurs and Mikel's performance that nite sent a warning to the rest of the Premier League that, in order to get a result against Everton, Mikel Arteta must be neutralised. Is it just me or is this theory proving to pan out in practice? Is it true that if Mikel plays poorly, we play poorly?
Neil Styles, Dublin Posted 17/09/2007 at 15:45:03

back Return to the Mail Bag

Comments

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Michael Kenrick

I think there are two issues here: one his him being double-teamed and marked/tackled/kicked out of the game... Which may or may not be true. Personally I don't think it is.

Second is whjat Mikel does with the ball when he is 'on', especially aat set-pieeces where the above is moot. If he pulls out a great delivery, has a great shot on goal, then hey, what more could we ask? But his deliveries were beyonmd poor onb Saturday, and his shots were virtually non-existent.

Yes, the frst issue could be a factor in lowering his confidence but I think he needs to be doing better when he has the ball and has space to do something with it, which he clearly did have on a number of occasions against Man Utd and in recent games.

Tony Miller
1 Posted 17/09/2007 at 20:31:40

Maybe as happens with all players he is a little off form few players if any play every game at their peak.

But hopefully he will get back to the standards he has set himself pretty soon.

Peter Singer
2 Posted 17/09/2007 at 20:25:28

I think Mikel has a temporary dip in confidence which should be remedied soon. His set-piece delivery had been terrific last season, now we see nothing of that. I’ve noticed on several occasions that he’s shot-shy which is a clear indication of low confidence.

That’s the curse of all flair players and that’s why we need players who can put in workmanlike performances.

So it’s true that if he doesn’t perform, our attacking options are alarmingly limited but I don’t think it’s a matter of extra defenders marking him.

We shall see if Gravesen can ease the pressure put on Arteta and if he can, he’ll shine once again.

Ray Roche
3 Posted 17/09/2007 at 21:03:32

Thats why Moyes tried to buy Fernandes and why for the short term at least he has brought in Tommy Gravesen..We do have only one creative midfielder fit at the moment and thats a worry..Too much is weighed on Arteta to deliver thats why it made a refreshing change when Gravesen came on at Bolton and turned the game in our favour..Midfield wise how many players can we say will do that for us this season?. Ive said all along Osman does little else in a game where he doesnt score even though I do like him for that reason..Cahill is nowhere near ready yet and even he cant swing a game in our favour through creation..Pienaar will probably consist of cameo roles..Neville, Jagielka and Carsley are all defensive minded. We have fire power up front but we need someone to feed them proper service thats glaringly obvious..

Peter Singer
4 Posted 17/09/2007 at 21:10:54

Ray, you’re partly right, Timmy won’t give us the creativity we need but is a massive threat from set-pieces, which is a very good way to win matches should we fail to create chances from open play. So he can swing a game in our favour, although admittedly not from creation.

Tony Miller
5 Posted 17/09/2007 at 21:54:02

When Cahill is back he will hopefully provide a little more space for Arteta.

At the moment he is the only one who is attracting players to him because of the danger he can cause.

Although Tim is a different type of player other teams also recognise him as a danger.

He can also add to our strengths upfront by breaking from midfield at the moment we see little of this except for the odd occasion fron Leon.

Still we do need that addition in midfield that we failed to obtain in the summer.

Alan Clarke
6 Posted 17/09/2007 at 22:02:27

It’s obvious why Arteta’s not played well. Moyes has played so bloody defensive, that Arteta trying to make a run for it from his own penalty area is totaly ineffective. We are so incredibly slow to break and try and attack that Arteta finds himself with absolutely no space to operate in.

The only thing that would help him would be to play him on the left with Baines. But Moyes didn’t dare to do this because Osman and Hibbert on the right was far too lightweight. Moyes has got to start gambling more and committing men forward in attack. It’s all very well signing "goalscorers" but if you leave them completely isolated or chasing down long balls they ain’t gonna score.

Oh and I’d drop Neville too.

Peter Singer
7 Posted 17/09/2007 at 22:34:34

Alan, surely you’re not suggesting that his shocking (at least to his standards) set-piece delivery and his reluctance to shoot even from inside the box is caused by Moyes’ so-called negative tactics.

Alan Clarke
8 Posted 17/09/2007 at 23:10:02

Peter, his confidence is affected and I do think Moyes’ definite negative tactics have contributed to this. This season will play out the same - until we reach the 40-point mark Moyes will carry on playing his defensive style. Only then will he start to play a more expansive game. Because we finish the season playing better, we all forget how shit it is to watch at the start. At Christmas last year most posts in the mailbag were saying how shit we were and that Moyes should go. I’m not calling for Moyes’s head, I just want him to play more attacking football - you can’t say we didn’t play negatively on Saturday.

John Andrews
9 Posted 18/09/2007 at 00:20:40

Someone’s been reading my mails ! I mentioned this only yesterday in a different discussion. If you stop Arteta you stop Everton. He has been our best player for ages and now the other teams have sussed this out and, irrespective of that which Michael says, he is being marked/kicked out of the game.
I also mentioned that due to Moyes’ team selection we only have Arteta and one other midfield player to create anything. This is due to continually selecting two defensive midfielders.
As soon as Gravesen and/or Cahill return you will see a different Arteta.

Nick Entwistle
10 Posted 18/09/2007 at 10:50:30

This is why Manny was so important (I’m I allowed to mention him?). He would have taken the burden of Arteta and caused his own problems for the opposition. But oooooooh no, he had to play for Valencia...

Neil Styles
11 Posted 20/09/2007 at 13:54:25

John, I have not been reading your mails! honest! Its a criticism from rival fans that Ive heard so many times in the last several months; to beat Everton, you must beat Arteta. I just read your post and I hope youre right; with the return of Tommy and Timmy, Mikel will return to top form.