Why Arteta may be the best option Arsenal have as our next manager. by Patrick Karani
Good morning Gooners from the beautiful East African country Kenya.
The hottest topic among us, the Gooners, must surely have everything to do with Wenger’s succession. I know most fans around the world have their preferences. It however appears very apparent that the powers-that-be at the Club are in favour of our former captain Mikel Arteta taking over the reigns, albeit with reduced powers than Arsene wielded. With that in mind, I will attempt to demonstrate why Arteta may just be the best option we have at this point in time. To do so, I will briefly look at the other candidates linked with the job vis-à-vis Arteta.
Maxi Allegri
The Juve coach, without doubt, must be the preferred candidate by most fans. To his credit, he has won three successive Scudetto with the Turin giants. He has equally progressed to the latter stages of the UCL, including the finals in 2016 and 2017. However, he lacks Premier League experience. To illustrate this, just look at Conte, his predecessor at Juve. He came to Chelsea and surprised everyone by winning the league in his first season. Since then, however, it has been downhill for him. As expected, he will definitely leave at the end of the season after dropping from first to fifth in the league. Allegri therefore presents a great risk. In any case, many of you will agree that he inherited a great team from Conte. There has basically been little challenge in the Serie A, with the two Milan clubs falling off the pace in the last few years, leaving Napoli as the closest challenger especially during the current season.
Luis Enrique
I have personally never rated him. Did he achieve anything spectacular at Roma? It’s debatable, but for me, it is a big NO. At Barcelona, he inherited a great team with which any average coach would have succeeded. It is also rumoured that he is such a difficult character to work with, though we may never know how true that is. Finally, he equally lacks Premier League experience, having never played or coached therein.
Patrick Vieira
He is one of our many legends, one of the best captains that we have ever had. He captained the Invincibles, the best team that Arsene ever assembled. Yet, he has been out of the EPL for several years now. Since he last worked for Man City, the league has so much evolved, to the extent that an experienced manager like Mourinho, with a shitload of money, has failed to click at United. He therefore presents a great risk as well.
Thierry Henry
Other than being our best player in history (in my opinion), has he ever been actively involved in club management? I believe not. He could therefore be a bigger and more riskier gamble than Arteta. For me, therefore, it’s a big no for him.
Mikel Arteta
For the record, I entertain a lot of doubts about his suitability. But I am comforted by a few facts:
1) He has spent the last decade playing in the EPL, both for Everton and Arsenal. He must therefore have experienced the way the league has evolved.
2) He has worked for two seasons under (arguably) the best manager/coach in the world (Pep). Consequently, therefore, he must have learnt from the best. Remember Pep was plucked from Barcelona B (Reserves) and installed as the first team coach. The rest is history.
3) He recently retired playing as an Arsenal player and captain. He therefore knows the current Club set up inside out. He equally knows other teams in the league so well, having recently played against them either as a player or Pep’s assistant at City. He therefore has an edge over the other candidates.
4) Finally, I ask myself a simple question. If he wasn’t any good at all, why would Pep, a meticulous and arguably the best coach in the world, immediately hire him once he took over at City? There must be something he, Pep, saw in Mikel.
All in all, however, I still believe that his appointment may be a gamble. The same is worthy taking though. Cheers Gooners.
Patrick Karani,
Nairobi Kenya.