Arsenal's Mikel Arteta admitted he had to make changes to his game after being employed as a defensive midfielder this season by Arsene Wenger.
Arteta, a creative playmaker by trade, has thrived in a more defensive role this season, after the exit of Alex Song to Barcelona, and the Spaniard said he is happy to play in whichever position the manager wanted him to play in.
"It's a very important job, balancing the team between attack and defence, and that's what I've been attempting to do," Arteta told the club's official magazine.
"I've had to change my mentality a little bit -- I know that I can't go forward as much as I used to, and I need to sacrifice more in attack - but if it's beneficial for the team I'm more than happy to do it.
"If you want to play at a top-level club like Arsenal you have to adapt to different roles and situations. We've got so many attacking players now, with a lot of quality going forward, and I know I now have more defensive responsibility.
"I need to assume that responsibility to help my team-mates and I'm very pleased to do it if we get the right results."
The Spaniard believes the role of a defensive midfielder is changing and physical presence and power is not as essential as the ability to read the game, something that Arteta is quite adept at doing. "There are many different aspects to it," he added. "For me it's not only about how strong physically you are, or how demanding the position is physically -- it's about being aware, anticipating, being able to read the game and assess what's happening.
"Sometimes you don't need to make unbelievable tackles to win the ball back -- not if you're in the right position.
"But it's a demanding position for me mentally, because we have a lot of defensive responsibility and if you don't do it correctly then you can get caught by a run, or something like that, and it's a goal.
"That's the biggest thing to be mindful of."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.