Mikel Arteta must take the Arsenal handbrake off and unleash Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka to silence critics, reignite the Gunners' stuttering title bid

Arteta has undeniably done an outstanding job re-establishing Arsenal as one of the top teams in England after taking over from interim boss Freddie Ljungberg in December 2019 following the dismissal of Unai Emery, the previous permanent manager, the month before.

He even won an FA Cup with what was essentially still Emery's side just nine months later - but that remains his last notable achievement. Arteta may count Community Shields as meaningful - but nobody else does.

For all the progress that Arsenal have made on the Spaniard's watch - three consecutive runners-up finishes in the Premier League and an appearance in the semi-finals of the Champions League - the fact of the matter is that his tenure cannot be considered an unmitigated success.

One FA Cup win is not an acceptable return on an investment of approximately £1 billion ($1.3bn) in players and while being twice denied the title by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City may have been forgivable, being left trailing in the wake of Liverpool in Arne Slot's first season in English football was anything but.

Worryingly, Arsenal are already playing catch-up in this season's title race and many pundits believe that Arteta's lack of bravery is the main reason why.

Arsenal arrived at Anfield on August 31 without their best player, Bukayo Saka, while key creator Martin Odegaard had only just returned from injury.

Nonetheless, with Liverpool looking more than a little disjointed during the first two rounds of the season after a summer spending spree, the pre-match consensus was that the game was there for the taking for the visitors.

It was a feeling that had only intensified by the end of a first half in which the reigning English champions managed just two shots - neither of which were on target.

However, Slot was bold during their break, instructing his team to go man for man in their pressing, meaning that the complexion of the game had altered by the time Arteta brought on Eberechi Eze and Odegaard midway through the second half.

Arsenal had lost the initiative, so while Dominik Szoboszlai's fantastic free-kick may have been a moment of magic in an otherwise mundane match, it was impossible to avoid the conclusion that fortune had once again favoured the brave.

"Liverpool have got something that Arsenal and Arteta don't have right now," eight-time Premier League champion Gary Neville said on Sky Sports. "And it's that edge to go on and win those big matches.

"Liverpool believe they should be winning these matches. I'm not sure Arsenal do. They don't want to lose."

Such an insipid defeat to a direct title rival ramped up the pressure on Arsenal going into last Sunday's meeting with Manchester City at the Emirates.

"I think it's now or never for Arteta being honest," former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney said on his podcast. "He has to win something major this season, in my opinion, because he has spent a lot of money, brought a lot of players in, and he's probably got the best squad in the league."

The question before the game, though, was the same as the question after it: Is Arteta really making the most of the talent at his disposal?

Arteta, midfielder Declan Rice and several other Arsenal players were adamant that Arsenal "dominated" City - and they certainly did in terms of possession (66.8%-33.2%).

But while they saw more of the ball than anyone else in a league game against a team managed by Guardiola - they did very little with it, which is why they ended up needing an injury-time equaliser from substitute Gabriel Martinelli to claim a 1-1 draw.

Much of the post-match discourse centered on Arteta's team selection. As at Anfield, he named a conservative-looking midfield three of Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, meaning Eze once again began on the bench.

Given the former Crystal Palace ace came on and the set up the equaliser, the obvious argument was that Eze should have started against a tired City side but Arteta insisted: "It's too easy to say that. I think it's very clear what we wanted to do. And we started the game very well.

"After City scored (through Erling Haaland nine minutes in) - doing absolutely nothing before that - we were a bit shaky for five or seven minutes and after that we still gripped the game again and started to dominate it."

Again, though, the reality was at odds with Arteta's perception, as Arsenal didn't manage a shot on target until stoppage time at the end of the first half - which is why Jamie Carragher labelled it "a waste of 45 minutes" from the home side.

"The reason I am saying that is because I played for managers like that at Liverpool and we were really close and a very top team, but we never won a Premier League," the former England international said on Sky. "I always felt at times under Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez, maybe we had the handbrake on in certain games and that is what Arteta is doing.

"Liverpool were there for the taking in that second half at Anfield, Man City were there for the taking at the start of this game and he has allowed them to come into the game.

"It is just a recurring pattern season after season and if you are Arteta and an Arsenal supporter, you just have to hope that it does not cost you at the end of the season as they are a brilliant team with a fantastic squad, but the margins are so small."

The season is obviously still in its infancy. There is certainly no reason for anyone at Arsenal to start panicking - not least because Liverpool are having their own issues integrating so many new players into Slot's starting line-up, as underlined by Saturday's shock loss at Crystal Palace.

Slow and steady isn't going to win the race, though. Arsenal need to start taking more risks, starting at St. James' Park, where they have the chance to cut Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League table to two points. To do so, Arteta simply has to unleash Eze and Saka on Newcastle from the very first whistle.

The former midfielder has made a point of underlining the importance of his "finishers" - a concept borrowed from the world of rugby - but the counterargument is that starting your best players is, more often than not in football, a more successful strategy than relying on super-subs making a decisive impact off the bench. He who dares usually wins, essentially.

"The few managers I've played under, particularly at club level, I always thought were gamblers - Brian Clough and Alex Ferguson were gamblers," former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said on Sky last Sunday.

"They were all about winning and not waiting and not worrying too much about the opposition. They went for it and they got the rewards, and maybe Arteta is defensive-minded.

"When I'm looking at him, I think his mindset is, 'Let's make sure we don't get beaten today.' But because of the standards of the other teams, and we're talking about Liverpool and Man City over the last few years, that won't be enough.

"So they have to change that mindset, particularly at the start of the game today, 'Let's go at them.' It's as if they were waiting for something to happen. They've got the quality, the strength and depth. What are they waiting for? Have they got that belief?"

Arteta was inevitably irritated by the criticism of his tactics after the City game. "How can you be dominant against such a team with a handbrake [on]?" he asked, essentially arguing that a negative team couldn't have possibly enjoyed so much possession against a title rival.

He also cast doubt over whether Eze would have been able to play 90 minutes against City after starting Arsenal's two previous games, against Nottingham Forest and Athletic Club.

However, there wouldn't be any possible excuse for leaving Eze - or Saka - on the bench at Newcastle with an easy Champions League assignment against Olympiacos to come next week. The former opened his Arsenal account in the midweek win at Port Vale, while the latter played 60 minutes of the game in Burslem.

With Odegaard not yet ready to return to the starting line-up, the obvious move would be to station Saka in his usual position on the right wing and give Eze the freedom to work his magic in a more central role behind Viktor Gyokeres, with a seemingly resurgent Gabriel Martinelli providing the width on the left.

Of course, Arteta may well decide against fielding such an adventurous attacking quartet against Newcastle. He could consider it too risky.

But Arsenal have already declined two opportunities to make a statement this season. If they turn down a third, Arteta is going to find it difficult to laugh off accusations of leaving the handbrake on.