Arsenal has to steer clear of making Mikel Arteta their new manager urges Paul Merson.
The Gunners are looking for their next permanent manager after they fired Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta has suddenly jumped to the top of the list of possible replacements.
The Spaniard has been Pep Guardiola’s assistant since he retired from playing but Merson believes that his lack of experience at the senior level doesn’t make him a good candidate for the job.
Writing for Sky Sports, Merson slammed the Arsenal board for even considering him and insisted that the mess at Arsenal could see managers like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp struggle to achieve any worthwhile success.
“This is a big, big gamble putting someone that has never managed before in charge of a club the size of Arsenal,” the pundit said.
“It’s all well and good saying he’s worked under Pep Guardiola, but let’s be honest, Guardiola would struggle managing this Arsenal team. Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp would struggle!
“You’re only as good as your players at the end of the day and the idea of Arteta replicating Guardiola’s style of football at the Emirates just falls apart when you look at the players he’ll be working with.”
He also insists that the club’s board members were clueless to consider giving Arteta his first senior managerial gig.
“Arsenal are in this mess because the people upstairs simply aren’t fussed,” he added. “I mean, who’s making this appointment?
“Who believes Arteta is the best appointment possible, one that will really steady the ship? I cannot make the case for Arteta because he’s never managed before, yet someone at Arsenal can.
“How can you do that? I want to know who is upstairs at Arsenal saying this is a good appointment. From the club’s perspective, it’s clueless.”
It seems to me that Arteta is going to be a controversial figure.
In a way, I already feel sorry for him and he has not even been given the job yet. Comments on here and among pundits have left me sensing that the 37-year-old will have quite a short honeymoon period.
I quite agree with Merson cause sometimes experience matters, let’s just see how it goes.
I want to be positive that Arteta if appointed will do a good job.
I think arsenal board should have given A proven coach like big Sam for six months to save us from relegation. Then when the team is stable,then they can go for the permanent coach.
lol. big Sam coaching Arsenal
Arteta that doesn’t even talk when he was a captain I wonder how he talk to the big boiz at the club, I don’t support the idea of bringing him here. it will just be from frying pan to fire
In over forty years of supporting Arsenal I have never felt so insecure about my club. I fail to understand the direction we are heading towards. We have sold out to a bunch of American owners who care nothing about football nor Arsenal football club. I fear for the here and now. We need a top proven Manager who can sort out the damage done over the past couple of years. All underperforming players need to be sold. I don’t want my club to become another Stoke City, mid table, yo-yoing between divisions and winning nothing.
We need Julian Nagelsmann. He is a real coach and has proven more than capable of using young talent on teams who don’t necessarily always splash the cash. Arteta is a knee-jerk reaction from a desperate board with their heads so deeply buried in their own manure, they think this guy is somehow going to have some kind of coaching prowess or pedigree simply through osmosis.
Ironic. The same Nagelsmann who was an U19 coach 3 years ago, and assistant before that. How do you think he would’ve fared if the Hoffenheim fans were so judgemental about him as you are about Arteta?
Get Big Sam in to steer us clear off of relegation then overhaul the defence and midfield in the summer. As for the inexperienced Arteta am afraid he will end up as Gary Neville did at Valencia..fired after 4 months.
Stop overlooking a head which experienced manager a u talking about and with arsenal it needs complete rebuild anecelotti has never built a team ,he coaches built teams and lately he failing failing to manage those quality teams like Bayern Munich and Napoli. Arsenal needs a young,energetic manager with fresh ideas so its safer to go with Arteta and he needs patience with good recruitment team
What is the difference between arteta and Freddie ljunberg???
I will rather leave ljunberg ,give him funds in January which is just around the corner than put arteta in charge…
Even klop will not win his first 5 games with the personnel at arsenal and pep will not even win one game….
Vic I salute you . You are the only one who sees good things . There’s no different between Freddie and Arteta . Firstly Freddie at least had experience and played for arsenal for 9 years and won trophies . That quite Arteta couldn’t open his mouth while he was a Captain . Arsenal are going backward and they will become like stoke . Is better to keep Freddie and support him January to buy defenders as our defenders are rubbish can’t defend at all . We got the best attackers but we can’t defend . If board can improve the defense I think arsenal can survive relegation as at the present moment is too scaring . Pep is the coach not Arteta I don’t know what makes the board so foolish to think Arteta is the right person to take arsenal forward
MONEY IS NOT ARSENAL’S PROBLEM
I think the time has come to address this long bandied around idea that if Arsenal spends a tone of money then the club will start doing well right away. There is nothing further from the truth. My personal opinion is that Arsenal’s problem is more a matter of recruitment than money. Manchester City has two players who cost over 50M pounds. Otherwise, most of them cost about 50M or less. Arsenal has two players that cost over 50M ponds yet we are where we are.
VVK joined Southampton for 13m pounds in 2015 and was sold for 75M pounds 2 years later. Who did we get around the same time. We got Xhaka (35m), Mustafi (35), Elneny (undisclosed) and so on. Tell me which of these players Arsenal can sell today for more than the amount that was paid for him!
Aubameyang was available and wanting to come to England before eventually joining Borussia Dortmund for about 10m pounds only for us to spend almost six times that amount for a player that was five years older. Mo Saleh was doing his thing in Italy before Liverpool spotted him and paid a paltry sum of 34m for a player that now commands upward of 120m in the market.
Before Leicester won the league for the first time I thought Arsenal should go for Ndidi especially with our problems in the DM position. I do not think we can get Ndidi for less than 50m now and Leicester is doing better than us so why should he join a sinking ship?
Samuel Chukwueze of Villareal has been there for a while now and would cost about half of what we paid for Pepe (no disrespect for Pepe). We could have gotten him for half of Pepe’s cost and could have spent the balance on Nathan Ake to help or defense.
Ming is there at Aston villa now and Ake (Ake is already a Holland international) is there at Bournamount but we are not seeing them. I can bet that in a few years these defenders will be there close to the top. That is when Arsenal will start to look and wonder how they were missed.
Any attempt to solve our problems at Arsenal must involve solving the problem of recruitment. Without solving our recruitment issue Arsenal will not progress.
Agreed! Especially on Mings and Ake, I’ve been signing this song! Those guys are good and will get snapped up sooner or later. If we signed them our defence would improve dramatically.
Those two plus Lewis Dunk are good solid experienced Premier League defenders , why we don’t go for them I don’t know. This fixation with overpriced foriegn defenders is baffling.
At list you have opened our ears and this is one of the things Arsenal has been facing for a long time, It even made us to lose many top players CR7 is one of them not forgeting Messi and many more so deseasion making in our purchase of players is always slow and Arsenal fear competition in market and yet they are good at identifying talents and this has made teams to now use Arsenal to identify knowing that they are eaasy to be pushed off.
What a goood points you have there. I quite agree everything. In addition our coaching and player development is so so poor. Liverpool got Sallah when he couldn’t manage to score more than 15 goals in seria A, got Mane when he wasn’t more than 10+ player from Soton, Firmino was just a player with flashes here and there. Those players today worth more than they were got for. Us on the other got 30 goals plus in Laca, Auba and Pepe and yet struggling to get more than two shots on light in some game this season. In other clubs Chambers, Holding and Mano would have being shaped into monster of CB because the potential is their. Xhaka is way below his quality when we got him. That is why I think people saying buying this player or that player don’t pay attention to what is happening with our coaching. Our problem is cultural that is the only way I can explain what I saw on Sunday. Freddy is toeing the same line as Wenger and Emery with defensive play. I know he is a caretaker coach but his handprint should have been on our defensive play if not otherwise. Coach those defenders in act of man marking first to see if they can and weed out those that can be reshaped
Arsenal under the current leadership lacks vision,plan and strategy.A smaller team like Everton is not interested in their former captain-Arteta because he is not just good enough.
Arsenal is becoming a comedy club
The whole management structure starting from kroenke to the last person in charge of recruitment should leave the club coz their focus on what the club desires is in vain. Arsenal is in a total mess those leaders. Now listen to the Arteta chaos hmmm total lack of focus for the club of arsenal stature, how on earth can people think that arteta will manage arsenal greater horizons, it can’t be it’s all funny,arsenal fans, we need to do something and put sense in those guys’ heads. Arsenal leaders should bring back the love they had for the club if not arsenal will be relegated like those other team that they also know.
I total agree with you . That quiet Arteta played for Erveton and been a captain can you imagine they don’t even think of him as they know there’s no managerial brains in him . Arsenal board is a joke of a team . I rather have Freddie and support him with the defenders in January and see at the end of the season if he is the right person or get someone who got exoernce or won something line Max Allegri
Arsenal has disestablished the Managers position at the club.
Now we appoint a head coach instead.
Before the manager was the most powerful person in the club.
Now he coaches the team but everything else is out of his hands.
I am fine with the head coach concept.
Just not comfortable with Arteta having had no head coaching experience.
Josh wants Arteta to be his puppet.
Josh wants top 4 so the Kroenkes can sell the club to help pay off
the spiraling 2 billion dollar blow out on the Inglewood stadium in LA.
Emery was told top 4 or sack but failed so Josh has stepped in
to take dirct control of proceedings.
Arteta the head coach with no head coaching experience is there for a political decision.
Mikel is a yes man and will do exactly as he is told.
At Arsenal he was at the heart of Arsenals dodgy defensive midfield
but followed orders and was rewarded with the captaincy.
Now that same loyalty to the club especially the owner is what really matters.
Head coach or loyal vassal I am ok with this especially if we start winning games.
Is there any guarantee that Arteta can start winning. If not better stick to
Apncelotti.
He has proven credentials
Ancelotti’s big trophy days are a while back.
Besides he has (apparently) been appointed Everton manager.
Both Carlo and Mikel have it all in front of them
They are now to manage/coach two big under performing clubs with big ambition.
Will be intriguing to see which of these new appointees do best.
Nobody ever heard of Pep before he became Barça’s coach. Wahe successful? Ok, he had great players at the tine but they still needed to be moulded into a team. It’s completely pointless in these comments to talk about what players Arsenal should buy or what players the team will benefit by. We should be talking about whether we think Mikel can, with available players, inprove performance on the field. We are not in a transfer window.
I, for one, believe he can!
its not automatic that when you get an experienced coach, you will have instant results, lets give Arteta a chance to prove himself and next month we try and sort our defence and midfield thats got gaps,Im sure Arteta will tweek the squad and get us back on track.
When Wenger came to Arsenal, everyone was asking, Arsen who? even the senior players doubted him, but alas, look what he did when he took over, we won the league, FA, and also took us CL final and then when we left Highbury, things took a nose dive because the board wasn’t providing funds for Wenger to reinforce his squad, not that Wenger was a bad coach at the end of his reign, its just Arsenal couldnt compete with likes of Chelsea & Mancity whose owners had the passion for football and worked hard to buy world class players year in whilst Arsenal relied on academy players.
All this problems we are having is from the top management, whether you bring Pep,Klopp,Conte,Poch etc, the results will be the same if we don’t reinforce our squad.
Arteta has experience as a player, now as an assistant, knows how the way the game should be played and speaks fluent English,and got the papers and I m sure at the back of his mind, he so ready, let the board announce him as our new manager, right now Allegri is not available and who can come and salvage our dire situation now? you know the answer.
Arsenal fans, please be optimistic and have believe, if all get emotional and negative, we will be relegation material very soon.
If Merson is saying that even Guardiola or Klopp couldn’t change things around at our club, and they are the best around right now, then who does he think can do it. Might as well let Arteta have a go, at least he’s worked with the best and will bring new ideas to the club. I wouldn’t listen too much to what Merson says anyway, the man is a clown. Didn’t exactly do any good at Walsall I seem to remember.
I totally agree marty.
Well said SAGooner,talk about hang the bloke before he even got the job,yes it may be a risk but taking Wenger was a risk or have we all forgotten that one,Arteta is very highly thought of at City and Pep would rather keep him,If he comes give the bloke a chance and lets see what he’s got,he’s a former player and captain of this club.
My first choice would have been Ancellotti but it looks like he is going to Everton, I am going to give Arteta if he is appointed my full backing and if he fails I will admit that the club got it wrong,but for now whoever gets the job good luck to them.
If he fails we will be relegated.Make no mistake if the current form continues we will be playing in the Championship next season
The only part of Mers’s comments that i agree with are that the players are not good enough,I also saw that the senior players wanted Ancellotti, How they can demand who they want is bang out of order their performances have been nothing short of disgraceful,they need to take a good look at themselves.
I think Henry could work Vierra to sail the cannon gun to success. But Arteta can do something less.
I am worried about Arsenal.