There Is Nothing Fickle About Arsenal Fans Questioning Arteta–Especially When He Had A Hand In Creating All Of The Club’s Current Issues
Arsenal is on the struggle bus. There can be no doubt about that, and if you need evidence, look at the statistics. Zero goals scored in open play for several consecutive games. An over-reliance on set pieces to score at all. A left side of the offense that the Guardian noted has scored only 21% of Arsenal’s goals — making them the worst unit in the league. The one common thread in all these problems is the manager, Mikel Arteta.
This is the team he spent £750 million constructing. For all the flak Wenger took late in his career (which was very well-deserved), he’d probably still be here if the Kroenkes had ever let him spend three quarters of a billion quid on players in five years. These are the players Arteta wanted and they’re playing his tactics. So, why should he be immune to criticism when his team grossly underperforms?
That’s not fans being fickle. That’s fans holding the manager accountable in a way no different than they would be held responsible for underperforming at their own jobs. An engineer is only as good as their last successful build. If a famous engineer supervises the construction of a failed dam, it’s irrelevant how many of their other dams are still standing.
Arteta Should Absolutely Be Taking Fire Right Now
Arteta has a lot to answer about if this team doesn’t win a championship this season. That it is as it should be. Despite the Brinks truck full of cash he’s spent on player acquisitions, the two best players at Arsenal, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka, are not players he bought. Saka is an academy product, and Saliba came in during the Emery regime.
If Arteta deserves credit for their development, which he does, he also deserves to be held accountable for players he has failed to develop. Nuno Tavares, for example, is leading Serie A in assists at Lazio. Considering how non-existent Arsenal’s left-side attack is, loaning Tavares out looks more questionable every day. Gabriel Martinelli has gone from potential star to the Brazilian Theo Walcott; a guy who runs fast in one direction with his head down.
Too Many Arteta Gambles Are Coming Up Snake-Eyes
Ricciardo Calafiori looks like a good player. Unfortunately, he also looks like Kieran Tierney’s Italian cousin, when you consider how much time he’s spent on the training table… for £42 million. Watching Mikel Merino pivot feels like watching a lorry attempt a K-Turn on a narrow cobblestone street. Like Dani Ceballos, Merino has obvious technical qualities, but athletically, he looks miles off the EPL pace, and no one can deny that.
Unfortunately, that’s far from the only lowlight for Arsenal this season. The fact that Gabby Jesus couldn’t kick the ball into the English Channel from the deck of the Dover to Calais ferry is the only thing keeping the spotlight off how ineffective Kai Havertz has been for most of the year. Arsenal have committed £100 million on transfer fees and over £500k/week to two strikers who haven’t scored ten goals between them all year.
What do both players have in common? Arteta wanted them. £100 million to buy two “strikers” with less cutting edge than a kindergartner’s child safety scissors? Why shouldn’t Arteta have his feet held to the fire about that? Can anyone honestly say Arsenal wouldn’t be better off right now with Solanke or Ivan Toney? Eberiche Eze was available all summer long. Surely, he’s a better creative solution and goal threat than Martinelli or Trossard.
Nothing Arteta Has Done at Arsenal Makes Him Untouchable
Whenever someone asks these questions, many Arsenal fans carry on as if doing so is akin to insulting the Pope during Christmas Mass. Does winning an FA Cup and two community shields make Arteta a sacred cow? Is that the standard? Why do so many Arsenal fans resort to flimsy arguments like “Solanke isn’t killing it at Tottenham,” or “We’ve only lost three times in 2024 and you doubt the manager… you are so fickle” in his defense? (Admin note … That was me!)
Both defenses miss the entire point. First, Tottenham is %%%t. The fact that Solanke hasn’t set the league on fire there doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be better at Arsenal alongside Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. Second, how much less effective could anyone be than the tripe Arsenal trots out at CF right now? At this point, it’s worth noting that Havertz isn’t a CF by trade.
He’s been “converted” to one by Arteta because he was an utter disaster playing the position Arteta brought him here to play. After a half-decent season where he managed double-digit goals, Havertz has regressed to the mean and revealed what everyone always knew: that he’s not a real CF. Yet our erstwhile manager pays him like one. How does Arteta not deserve to be called to the mat over that?
Professional Football Is a Results-Based Business
The “we’ve only lost 3 games in 2024,” defense is equally specious. The standard is winning the EPL title. Period. Regardless of how many points that translates to us needing, it’s the manager’s job to field a team that gets those points. Arteta isn’t doing that, and that’s why Arsenal sits in 3rd place after having blown two glorious opportunities to close the gap on Liverpool in just the last several weeks.
Yes, absolutely, 100% positively YES, THE MANAGER NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT. He’s spent nearly a billion dollars. His team can’t score in open play and the club has the worst left-sided attack in the EPL. What accountability looks like if the club doesn’t win a trophy is a different question. However, top-down accountability should be “non-negotiable,” to coin a phrase from Arteta himself.
What Accountability for Arteta Looks Like
To be certain, the fans should hold Areta accountable respectfully. There should be no ugly chatter about Arteta personally or his family on social media. The same goes for the consistently poor players whose wretched performances are derailing this season. It’s not hard to figure out who they are. Short of that, however, they all deserve to take the heat for the club’s current form.
One potential starting point for that accountability is reducing Arteta’s autonomy over player acquisitions. Should Arteta be trusted with the shopping list and the wallet this summer after flushing £34 million down the drain on Fabio Viera and badly missing the mark with Kai Havertz and Gabby Jesus? At a minimum, Arsenal’s new sporting director should have a clear position in the chain of command that is HIGHER THAN ARTETA’S.
The Fans Footing the Bill For This Have A Right To Ask Hard Questions
The fans who pay hard-earned money for cable subscriptions, kits, and match day tickets to support this team have every right to question the club’s direction. Yes, the Kroenkes own the team, but fan money funds Arsenal’s “self-sustaining business model.” Arsenal fans can question the results all they want for as long as that’s the case.
That’s not fickle. That’s how the real world works. If Arteta doesn’t like that, then it’s just hard cheese. High expectations come with the job. If you can’t meet those expectations after spending a billion dollars, perhaps Arsenal is the wrong job for you. Make no mistake about it. Mikel Arteta deserves every bit of the fire he’s catching for the club’s disappointing season.
e mcc
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“Arteta Should Absolutely Be Taking Fire Now” then the next statement is “Arteta has a lot to answer about if this team doesn’t win a championship this season”. I guess the championships have been determined. I’ll just hold MA Accountable for both the good and the bad (whatever I believe that to be) and compare the two while always wanting better for The Arsenal.
The fans aren’t footing the bill anymore, it is all TV revenue.
That point aside, yes he should be held to account.
We seem to have regressed and are often playing very unappealing and overly cautious football. Facing the low block most of the time is also a challenge for style and appeal but sadly it works well against us. Injuries are a factor for sure but part of the problem is that we are only comfortable with a set team and can’t seem to adapt the line-up (and I know, easier said than done).
I did wonder if Konstantin was going by another name
Haha Sue,
No Konstantin is not so amusing lol
Really miss Konstantin and his clear headed thinking. Please cc ome home dude.
We Can blame and blame the players,especially the wingers, there is noway all the left wingers can play poorly, something is wrong with the whole system. We spend two seasons playing with these wingers especially Saka and my lovey boy Martinelli. There is nothing wrong with the two, the problem is we don’t have alternative if the wingers are marked. The other managers know perfectly that if you mark Saka and Martinelli, you cut surply and goals. There’s no ball carrier in the centre midfielders. This method or system failed last season so we still want the same wingers to perform the miracle I think. Even if the opposition are weak we never play straight in the middle of the park. Why??. We can not use our midfielders to defend, they must defend and carry the ball forward not Always passing the ball to the wingers
President, the wingers can only do so much, but without support from proper full backs rather than inverted lugs their work becomes twice as difficult. As a long termer who has seen how important the likes of McNab, Rice, Sampson, Dixon, Cole, Sagna and Monreal have been to our teams, it’s difficult to stomach Kiwior, Tomiyasu or even Ben White or Partey being inverted into square pegs.
Brilliant comment SueP.
Arteta is not above criticism, however, for some it’s a passionate hobby to knock him at every opportunity. For myself, I just get exasperated at his decision making, which of course will always be more prevalent when we lose or fail to win.
To be frank, something is off at Arsenal. Rice is a shadow of his former self. He can’t shoot or run forward with the ball, which Nwaneri does effectively. Arteta is forcing out the one player who ignites his game, in Partey. Havertz was hyped up for basic attempts to justify his price. Yes, I mean it, every player must be worth his cost. Havertz is never, ever going to achieve that no matter how much Arteta forces him into the team. Merino has not added anything to the team, except yellow cards and slowing the team down in the absence of White.
I think factually, only Arsenal board can determine wether Arteta should be “under fire” or not. It’s only his employers that knows the terms of his contract, the target set for him and the years required to achieve it. As for we fans we can only be expressive and show our passion for our beloved club, but how many times have we really been heard or taken seriously?
Sylva,
One thing is certain in this world, and that’s football clubs spout on about how important the fans are and that they love the fans.
Don’t be fooled by that. The price of Tickets, Food and Drink, Programs, all the merchandise that they charge extortionate prices for.
The only thing they love about the fans, is there hard earned cash.
Sad to say, but unfortunately true in my opinion.
You are very right @Derek👌
This is exactly what I’ve been saying! Arteta is quick to cut off players at the first hint of decline—yet somehow avoids taking responsibility for it himself. Instead, he expects endless patience and understanding to meet his own goals. If he can’t deliver the UCL or EPL this season, he needs to step down with some dignity. At this stage, Carabao and FA Cups, though much welcome, should not be our target!
I shouted myself hoarse from day one about Havertz being the worst signing of Arteta’s era, and now it’s plain for everyone to see. He’s a bang-average striker and an even worse midfielder, yet Arteta keeps forcing him onto the team to prove some imaginary point that no one else believes in. It’s a disaster, and it’s dragging the team down!