JAKARTA - Arsenal has been waiting for a schedule to visit Aston Villa's headquarters at Villa Park Stadium on Saturday, March 19 at 19.30 pm WIB. Ahead of the meeting in the 30th week of the 2021/2022 Premier League, Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta has a special request to the team.
Arteta asked the squad that was involved in this match to be on high alert for Philippe Coutinho's movements. The reason is, Philippe Coutinho is one of the players who had been the target of the team but failed to do so.
With that moment, Arteta, who is Arsenal's coach, must have known more or less about the performance of the player who had been the target of the Gunners. That's what prompted him to be wary of players.
"This team (Aston Villa) activates a lot of things when he (Coutinho) has the ball, so obviously that's something we have to keep an eye on," Arteta was quoted as saying by Sky Sport.
"He (Coutinho) also has the ability to create goals and chances and open up spaces when there are no gaps. That's something he did consistently at Liverpool."
Previously, it was mentioned that Arsenal wanted to buy Philippe Coutinho in the January 2021 transfer window. But the fact is that Philippe Coutinho remains with Barcelona. Instead, the North London club chose a player from Norway Martin Odegaard.
Luckily, Odegaard is now the right player for the team. The proof is that Odegaard is currently thriving at the Emirates Stadium with players like Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli who brought Arsenal closer to a top four finish and back into the Champions League.
However, based on existing records, the Gunners haven't actually competed in the Champions League since 2017. In that regard, Arteta doesn't think much of it and doesn't bother.
"We haven't been there (the Champions League). The competition is still not finished and a lot of things will happen. That's what we are preparing for," he concluded.
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