‘Arteta Out’ Makes Zero Sense by Dan Smith
So I actually haven’t given my opinion of if I’m in the camp of ‘Arteta In’ or ‘Arteta Out’.
First of all let me clarify that last Sunday’s performance against Aston Villa was a disgrace. Forget the result, the performance was unacceptable.
From day one our manager has spoken about the standards of the club and not accepting those who don’t follow those standards. Well everyone associated with the Arsenal has to stress we cannot tolerate an evening like last weekend again. It was that bad. So bad that some of the confidence the players may have felt at the end of last season has evaporated.
Yet even while watching Aston Villa humiliate us. Even being aware that we have one of the ficklest fan bases in the country, I never envisaged that there would be calls for Arteta to be sacked!
As a human experience it’s fascinating.
I don’t know if some gooners just do it for their YouTube Channels or have actually become this reactionary. How can the same readers who told me that Arsenal were title contenders, were winning the Champions League inside three years, that Arteta was better than Pep Guardiola and Wenger, change their minds after 8 games?
This isn’t about me saying ‘I told you so’ but go back to articles in the summer and compare what was being said then to what is being said now. It’s actually scary.
Don’t get me wrong I agree our coach might be too inexperienced, that he was simply a cheap option, so grateful for the job that he was willing to accept limitations (just like Emery).
The difference is that that was my opinion from the day we hired him. Common sense said that an assistant manager wouldn’t be first choice on your short list.
The Arsenal job should attract anyone in the world. Yet an Allegri is only taking the post if he believes it’s realistic to be a champion. 10 minutes into an interview any high-profile name would see the lack of ambition.
When I tried to say this, I was dismissed, called negative, etc. Yet – own your opinions. We can’t keep every week going between the two extremes.
I actually think we may have stumbled on someone special in Arteta, but I fear he won’t get the time to build what he wants. This is why I tried to dismiss any talk of a title bid. You could see what was going to happen a mile off.
Unrealistic expectations putting unfair pressure on the Spaniard, meaning fans get angry when they realize (shock) this team is not as good as they think.
I won’t demand Arteta be sacked, because I had prepared my mind that to get back to our old levels we have to go through many lows. If you finish 8th, that to me means you’re an inconsistent team, So why be shocked if in the next campaign we remain inconsistent?
I also think it would be so unfair to hire someone you know has zero experience, and then sack him a year later for having zero experience.
Our recruitment team must have realised that they were appointing a man who would learn on the job.
Maybe lockdown has made it seem longer, but the poor bloke hasn’t even had 12 months as a manager yet. He’s in his rookie year yet let’s sack him because he’s a rookie.
Then, take the emotion out of it and just be practical. What would happen if we did make a change? Do you think the criteria for the position would change?
It’s been proved since Mr Wenger left, established names don’t want to work under the current model. So you just replace one gamble with another one. Someone so grateful for the high-profile job they nod and smile. They accept only loans in January and slashing the wage bill.
That’s why I maintain while Stan Kroenke is in charge, we will never win the League.
If our owner wanted to, he could have got an Allegri and give 200 million to rebuild the squad
So I guess my attitude is, if I don’t think we will win title under Mr Kroenke anyway, we may just as well see how the Arteta experiment works?
I’m just going to ask though. From now to the Leeds game decide what your opinion is. If your point of view is, you want Arteta out please don’t flip flop if we get 3 points at Elland Road.
Alternatively if you spent the summer saying Arteta was better than Arsene Wenger you can’t change your thinking after 4 defeats, however painful.
That’s why our fan base have become a laughing stock.
Be Kind In The Comments
Dan Smith