Arsenal and Man Utd £40m transfer target criticised by own Premier League manager
The Crystal Palace striker was hooked at half-time by Oliver Glasner against Manchester City.
Arsenal and Manchester United transfer target Jean-Philippe Mateta was criticised by Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner for his showing in the first half against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Eagles started the meeting with the Champions quickly and were 2-0 up after just 20 minutes thanks to Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards. However, Kevin De Bruyne inspired a Manchester City comeback that saw the scores level at half-time and 5-2 to the Cityzens by the time the final whistle blew.
Mateta has been prolific since the turn of the year with nine goals in his last 10 Premier League outings and started the match once again for Crystal Palace. After the break, the talisman surprisingly didn’t return to the pitch with defensive midfielder Will Hughes coming on for the side.
Oliver Glasner criticises Jean-Philippe Mateta performance
Glasner was asked why he took Mateta off after the match with fears over a potential injury. In a brutal response, Glasner said: “It was a tactical decision.
“Now, I have to say it was the wrong decision. Not taking him off, but changing the formation to a 3-5-2. We wanted to control the midfield more, but it didn’t work. Subbing him wasn’t a mistake, he can do better than he did in the first half. He lost too many duels and balls. That’s why we decided to change something. The mistake I made was to change the system, not subbing JP.”
Arsenal are known to be in the market for a new striker this summer with incoming technical director Andrea Berta tasked with brokering a deal. The Gunners have been painfully short of firepower at times this season with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka all struggling with injuries.
Arsenal scout Crystal Palace striker
Wolves forward Matheus Cunha and Sporting CP bagsman Viktor Gyokeres have emerged as options but Football Insider this week added Mateta to the list. Former Premier League scout Mick Brown told the outlet: “Mateta has been on the radar of a number of clubs this season. The way he has played for Crystal Palace and the goals he has scored, he’s always going to attract a level of interest in his availability.
“From what I hear, Arsenal are among those teams who have had scouts watching him. We know Mikel Arteta wants to add a new striker to his squad, but I think he’s after a real elite forward who is going to lead the line for them.
“I don’t think Mateta is at the top of that list, there are other strikers they’re looking at instead, although they have considered a move for him. He’s done brilliantly for Crystal Palace and made a really strong reputation for himself. But he’s not going to be the answer to Arsenal’s problems.
“He’s a Crystal Palace player – he’s made for that role, he’s loving it under Glasner and he fits in perfectly with the way they play there. He’s a far more valuable player to Palace than he would be to Arsenal.
“That’s not meant as any disrespect to Palace or to the player because he’s been excellent there, but there are questions about whether he’d make Arsenal better than they are. I think they’re going to focus on other strikers after doing their due diligence on him.”
In other news, Fabrizio Romano provided an update on the future of Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, who is out of contract this summer.