Mikel Arteta Honest On “Bills To Pay” When Managing A Young Team

Mikel Arteta accepts having a young team comes at a cost…

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted that having the youngest squad in the Premier League comes at a cost, with the young players needing to make mistakes to learn.

Speaking to Arsenal’s official website as he celebrates his 40th birthday, Arteta reflected on the unique scenario of guiding the youngest squad while also being the youngest manager in the league.

Arteta has benefited from having a young squad given their devotion to his philosophy and their desire to run through walls for him.

They have all taken to his principles luck a duck to water, with the infamous 4-3-3 system taking shape at the club.

Having said that, the Spaniard admitted that there are drawbacks when managing a squad with an average age of 24.

“You have to analyse the profile of the squad, and in our case we have the youngest squad in the league,” Arteta was quoted as saying.

“Then you analyse how you can maximise that potential. You have some restrictions and some ‘bills to pay’ when you have young players. They can make mistakes, and the first time they do that you don’t know how they’ll react.

“With younger players it’s more complicated and you need the coaching staff, the supporters, everybody around the club to be more supportive when those moments arrive,” Arteta added.

We’ve seen a number of incidents that justify Arteta’s comments, with the likes of Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi-Lokonga and Aaron Ramsdale making costly errors this season.

The former duo haven’t necessarily recovered fully and have found themselves out of the team, while Ramsdale is yet to take to the field since the Liverpool game due to a hip injury.

If this young squad does the unthinkable and gets us back to the Champions League, Arteta will surely look to subsidise them with some ready-made talent.