IS MIKEL ARTETA PROVING HIS DOUBTERS WRONG, OR IS IT JUST THE KRONKIE’S MONEY PAPERING OVER THE INEXPERIENCE OF OUR MANAGER?
Having recently written an article asking for examples of Arsene Wenger, supposedly, being left behind by younger coaches/managers, I thought it would be sensible to look at how things have changed since our own inexperienced young manager Mikel Arteta came to the club.
He has, essentially the same responsibilities, workload and expectations that his predecessor had, but there are some differences that we should recognise.
Mikel came to the club as a coach, having worked under what some fans describe as the greatest manager ever, but with no managerial experience whatsoever.
The situation was to change quickly for Mikel however, when Gazidis left the club, and he was asked to take over the reins – something that the club had said would never happen again… giving so much power or responsibility to one individual.
Now we’re not talking about any old club (not being biased here!!) but a club recognised throughout the footballing world as one of the finest, with a fan base of millions and a club hungry for success once again.
In his first six months, he did just that, bringing the FA cup back to the club and followed it up with the pre-season CS.
However, our league position of 8th was to be our lowest in over two decades and questions were being asked by the fanbase.
There were internal difficulties, including the coronavirus issue, back-room redundancies, individual player problems and the feeling that there was an enormous divide between the owner and the fans that had been festering for a very long time.
Players contracts were terminated, while other players were brought in that simply weren’t good enough, and a second season of finishing 8th seemed to be the death knell of this inexperienced, but dedicated, manager.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, a fairy godmother appeared, in the shape of Josh Kroenke, following the debacle of the so-called Super league.
He promised to support MA, both with money and in the manager’s plans for the future and the revival began – much, I suggest, to everyone’s surprise.
Transfers with big money purchases were made and have continued to amaze, I believe, every one of the fanbase.
At last, we were competing and winning in the transfer market with the likes of City, Chelsea, United and Liverpool – something that no previous Arsenal manager had been able to do.
But this was not just about money – MA set about bringing everyone connected with the club into the equation and the Emirates responded accordingly.
We had never really managed to capture the soul of our magnificent old ground, Highbury, as Arsene Wenger admitted, but Mikel Arteta began that process as we finished 5th the following season.
There were still problems of course, lack of consistency, ignoring certain players, etc, and we bottled the end of the season, putting even more pressure on MA and, once again, legitimate questions were asked of him.
The Kronkes stood by their word, backed Mikel with eye watering money and he and Edu spent it wisely at last.
Last season began with a bang and continued throughout said season and we saw football that, at last and once again, thrilled us with its precision and entertainment levels.
We all know what happened at the end of course, but even the greatest managers have faltered at the final hurdle, and, on reflection, this was a superb performance.
Back in the top four, into the CL, scintillating football (most of the time), a united club, a manager who lives and breathes The Arsenal and, it’s reported, already turning down opportunities to manage perceived bigger clubs.
So, in answer to my question posed in a previous article when I asked for the name of someone who had shown that Arsene had been overtaken by a younger, more forward-thinking coach/manager, can I suggest it might be our own Mikel Arteta, such is his progress to date?
But the trouble was everyone wanted to talk about Arsene’s perceived failings, rather than think about the question posed…
For example:
money spent – money not spent – time bubbles – bad buys – trolls – quotes about money available – my personal opinion – how much money had been spent renovating Highbury in the 1930’s and the 1980’s – what Mikel inherited – whether he was forced to sell players…all deflections rather than answering the question posed….and lo and behold, not one of the replies gave Mikel Arteta as a future possibility.
OH, YE OF LITTLE FAITH!!!
Let’s all hope we can all watch Mikel Arteta become the most successful Arsenal manager ever – wouldn’t that just be the greatest thing since …. Arsene Wenger?!?!
ken1945
Maybe. But he’d likely have to wait until Guardiola moves to another country, before he can win EPL
It’s not as straight forward as just surpassing Wenger, the Frenchman Management and the ability to connect globally is second to none.
But the Spaniard driven by a huge appetite and massive hunger for glory, winning at all cost, won’t be restricted by balancing of any books, so thropy wise he could surpass all before him and more.
He’ll need to win more than three EPL trophies, but one UCL title should be enough to make him a legend at Arsenal
The early days of Wenger was much easier than his latter days because Epl on a whole has evolved and other teams are competing more. That’s why Wenger no longer finds it easy to to succeed like before. Arteta needs more time and that comes with results and major trophies this season.
Gai, NO, PEP is no Lord or King it’s all about Arteta believe and self motivation. If not for three unlock games inexperienced Arsenal almost won the league. Saka lost his penalty against Westherm(unlocky), ETony wrongly given goal (Unlock) Liverpool lose (inexperienced).That MCity won against Inter was a lucky day die them. Inter could have won considering their chances but for ill-lock. I bet MCity would be seriously challenged next season.
Man City were more consistent than us in EPL and they dominated Inter in UCL final
Gai, it’s obvious you have forgotten the stats that separates Arsenal and City last season.
CITY :won 28 Draw 5 Lost 5
ARSENAL:won 26 Draw 6 Lost 6
I don’t consider City as really more consistent but experienced when nerves was needed. Arsenal were really unlucky. This magine was close.
They weren’t more consistent please we messed the opportunity up especially our manager because he didn’t have plan b at all. Like city,
Why?
Needs to win s title first
If he left tomorrow he’s failed
So Wenger failed for over a decade Dan?
I don’t think so
No in his decade at his worst he did what we are celebrating now
To even compare Arteta with Wenger Is an insult
Who’s comparing? For me Arsene Wenger is the greatest manager we have had in my years of following The Arsenal.
Once again, someone applying their take to a question asked.
Where have I compared MA to AW? Please give me the example Dan.
No, what I am trying to offer, are the strides that MA has made and the difficulties (some being of his own making) he has overcome.
If you cannot see the difference, I cannot help you.
The article’s headline invites responses that will compare Wenger’s time with Arteta’s. Your second question seems to be a lead-in to the main thrusts of your arguments.
You are asking people to ignore the headline and only focus on your views and analysis. This is contentious.
David, I didn’t produce the headline, but I see nothing wrong with the question asked…. COULD he become, is not saying he will become.
Meanwhile, I’m just trying to detail what strides MA has made as a very young and, as a very inexperienced manager, he was able to achisece that.
Wow mate in know way am I attacking your article
I could be wrong but I read surpass as in you go past that person and do even better
Hence why I compared there first few years on the job
Sorry you saw that as an attack
Surpass means to exceed and be greater then
Arteta has not come close to either
Challenge the headline writer then and get involved with the content of the article Dan.
Just dont get why knowing that is the title your acting so amazed why people might think your saying can Arteta surpass Mr Wenger
When he left Arsenal he made a vow to return to the Emirates as a manager. His dream was realized much quicker than I beleive he even expected.
He is an intelligent coach, he has Arsenal in his heart and I am sure tactically we are in very safe hands.
I would like to see him improve in managing aspect. Players are club Assets and they must be dealt with in a manner beneficial to the club. If he does that there is no one better for the job.
We buy dear and pay big salaries to average players. In the end we fail to sell them and end up ripping up contracts.
Players are mysteriously frozen out puttind us in disadvantage in negotiations. Ozil, Auba and co were bad apples, Pepe is lazy but what about Tierney?
For how long will Kroenke allow it? Josh and Stan do not want to win trophies, they want to make profit. Soon the time will come where they will want to see return of their investment and backing.
The big contrast between Mikel and the legendary Wenger, is that Wenger cared too much for the financial health of the club. He conducted his business while keeping in mind where will the club be 10 to 20 years in the future.
The big contrast for me is Wenger in his first full season finished 1st then 2nd , then 2nd
Arteta finished 8th in first full season , then 5th, then 2nd
But that has nothing to do with the articles question does it Dan?
Your doing exactly the same thing that happened in my previous article – introducing data that has nothing to do with the question being asked.
But then you can’t be close to surpassing someone if you can’t even match their achievements ?
I’m not saying he’s surpassing anyone /anything.
What I’m saying is that he is a young manager who may have the potential to bring back the type of success we had under Arsene…. then asking if others see it that way?
. No comparison whatsoever, especially as there are so many differences in the first four years of their time as managers (highlighted in the article of course).
The title said surpassing hence why I thought you meant surpassing
The title said COULD and I didn’t actually write the title.
I know that mate but you equally can’t blame people for reading a title and thinking that’s what article is about …..that’s the point of a title lol
Anyways we agree ….Arteta not close to being compared to Mr Wenger
Time will tell Ken but this season expectations are high and rightly so given the quality players recruited and the fact that Partey and Tierney are not moving on apparently.With the strongest squad we have had for some time the season ahead is a big test for MA and while other rivals appear to have strengthened ,noticeably Liverpool,it may take them some time to integrate the newcomers effectively.Man City will miss Gundagon more than they imagine and KDB is beginning to show signs that he is human after all.The trouble is both Liverpool and City are managed by men who have proved themselves at the highest level and unfortunately for us they seem as determined as ever to carry on instilling a winning mentality to their players.Arteta almost got us there last season but whether he has it in him to clear the final hurdle remains to be seen.Personally ,I feel the main reason for the success of Man City last season was the major tactical change which took place after the departure of Cancello when they became better defensively aided by the usage of Stones and Rhodri in front of a resolute back three.Liverpool and Arsenal have some way to go to match City defensively but unless we improve in that area we are unlikely to win the League.Let’s hope our promising young Manager recognises the weaknesses at the back and takes steps to make appropriate tactical changes to overcome this problem with a view to closing the gap between us and the Current Champions.To this end he simply must pair Partey with Rice in central midfield for starters.
Arteta has been in favourable situations, some by him getting us there and then we have failed to follow those situations through. We lost in the EL to the manager he replaced, with us having a better team. He failed to get us 4th last season from a favourable position and we failed to win the league, when everything was in our hands and arguably favour. We have had very poor runs in cups under Arteta and one off pressure games seem to be a stumbling block for us.
Not only agreeing with your last paragraph, but also stopping this nonsense at LB!!
We have a top class defender in Tierney and, if anything, Zinchenko should be his back up…. in my opinion.
That was for Grandad!!
Reggie, the big question for me is why was Unai Emery not backed (position – coach vs manager, discipline of players and financially) to the same degree as Mikel Arteta and where would Arsenal have been now if the Board had backed him?
And of course, if we, the fans, had supported UE as well OG.
👍 Spot on, ken; not only Zinchenko but others appear to be preferred by Mikel Arteta at LB over Tierney.
Well he is 100% younger, the rest we will have to wait and see. There is a lot of positives in Artetas reign but a lot of holes too. Personally i think the way we play football under Arteta has to change. It is nearly impossible to play that way under pressure and requires every component working without exception for it too succeed. For me it is too flimsy, we will have to wait until the end of this season (hopefully) to say, it works. Until then far too soon to say.
I think he’s been backed by kroenke and that’s made a huge difference (agree that wasn’t the case for wenger post stadium move), but that alone doesn’t guarantee success. These are some examples for why arteta has shown he has something about him:
– he convinced xhaka to stay and then got him to play his best football in an arsenal shirt .
– he signed odegaard, who wasn’t great when he was here on loan and got him to be a key player for us
– our attack is built around two relatively young wingers, and it’s successful
– he implemented complex tactics effectively – crap managers simply don’t do that
– he assembled a squad of players who all bought into his style and ambitions
In short, he’s demonstrated a lot of fantastic qualities – *but* unless/until he can get this squad over the line and win a major competition (epl or ecl), there will always be question marks. One thing you can’t say about wenger is that he couldn’t win the title, because he did it three times, and once in outrageous fashion. However, I’d rather have this Arteta than post 2010 wenger, because arteta wouldn’t settle for the top four trophy as though that’s all we were playing for (I would hope!)
Arteta will need a big win soon before we can compare him to the goat. It’s a lot of pressure to get that first big win off your back I just wish our young players acted more fearlessly when faced with it, and revel in it
What an interesting article and very well balanced
I’d say that until Arteta wins more than an FA Cup and a 2nd place then he can’t be spoken of as a worthy successor to Wenger.
However, he has shown many signs of being an outstanding manager in the making. Apart from anything else, Arteta has the confidence of the Kroenke family which speaks volumes. They would be barking mad to have thrown that much money for transfers and expunging several players from the club at considerable cost if they didn’t see ‘something’.
It wasn’t just Arteta; there was a complete overhaul in the back office which has also brought dividends. MA has done brilliantly to go from a standing start to where he is now. Both Lampard and Gerrard had stellar careers on the field but couldn’t make the next level. You can virtually count the fingers on one hand of current managers who have that certain je ne sais croix and they have been managing for longer.
You are correct Sue but unlike Gerrard and Lampard, Arteta was allowed to go through sticky times. I dont think yet Arteta has done any better than Gerrard and Lampard could have done but because he was given time and a massive cash injection he has to prove he is better.
Hmmm on that Reggie
Gerrard in particular cut his teeth at Rangers and did well but couldn’t make it count at Villa at all in a stronger league. The same applies to Lampard who had a year at Derby, did ok at Chelsea until it dropped off a bit and Abramovitch lost his patience. My problem with Lampard apart from Derby missing promotion was that he has never instilled confidence in me. I’m trying to pretend that I have intuition but Arteta gave me confidence and that’s what ultimately made me stick with him when there were tricky moments. I believed he could turn it round. Also, I agree with you that the club did give him time. I also think that if they thought they had made a mistake then he’d have been out of the door- pronto
Do you think Arteta would have done better at Villa Sue? Not quite the same as managing Arsenal. And Arteta had a dodgy first 2 seasons.
Agree on Lampard, he has proved nothing yet and may not be cut out as a manager.
My reply didn’t make it🙄. I’ll have to ask AdPat
In a nutshell
I think Arteta would have been good at Villa. It’s the confidence thing and Gerrard didn’t inspire me there. Emery didn’t inspire me at Arsenal even though he has gone on to do well with AV.
I think Sue, Arteta at Villa under different financial restraints would have found it far difficult. But we will never no.
Let’s beg to differ
👍 Reggie, hard to find an accurate crystal ball.
In addition to Mikel Arteta, it will be interesting to follow the progress of other two managers: Unai Emery in his second season at Aston Villa and Ange Postecoglou in his first season at Tottenham Hotspur.
Thank you for the compliment SueP – I emphasis the word “could”, but the signs are there.
I will, however, comment and criticise when (in my opinion) he is not being held to the same values as AW and UE.
If he manages to maintain a top four finish, even better would be great of course, then I would see it as a successful season… not a great season, but a successful one.
Reggie, neither Lampard or Gerrard won the fa cup as managers, while MA did it with, we are led to believe, with a motley crew of dross players!!
If Arteta, Lampard and Gerrard were ti be on a short lusr for managing a top flight PL club, who do you think would get the job?
For me, it’s MA without a shadow of doubt based on their collective performances in the last two seasons.
Hopefully it’s time for us to bury the hatchet Ken
Indeed.
Ken has we both have said, he did it with players put together by cup and title winning managers, playing a totally different way. Arteta and his team, so far have drawn blanks.
Reggie and therein lies the rub – that’s why some of us were critical.
But, there are definite signs of improvement, as my article suggests and IF he continues to improve, we should recognise it and praise it.
If not, stand up and criticise as we have done.
Arteta May well surpass Wenger in the long term, BUT, he needs to learn two very critical and related aspects of the game: namely promotion of youth and rotation. The man has not promoted a single player in the 3 years he has been at Arsenal. He has an abundance of young talent but has no trust. Great coaches don’t only rely on seasonal purchases, unless of course, you’re Maurinoh.
As I said Mohlanka, no one is perfect and we should point out any mistakes,
But I seem to recall that was an accusation levelled at AW as well.
Time and the views of historians will determine whether he will be considered to have surpassed Wenger.
I disagree with your “learning points”. The current team’s foundation is based on the young players in the squad. The implied criticism based on a lack of progression of the players who have come through the youth set-up is parochial and unreasonable. “Abundance of talent” lacks any kind of specifics. Can you name any player from the youth team that should be in the first team? Of those youth players that have been transferred in the last
three years are you able to suggest any that are now starring for a top team?
Rotation (or a lack of) has been regularly cited as a criticism. However, when you look at the detail it is often unclear how some of the suggested changes would have helped Arsenal. There have been a few specific incidents that have driven these types of perspectives. However, any serious analysis would indicate that there are caveats in every case.
Hi AdPat
Did a reply of mine to Reggie go into spam ? Cheers
On contrary of what others said, Mikel Arteta didn’t have it easy at Arsenal. He got everything by merit. He went through proper interviews and considerations by the club hierarchy. Then he set a short term goal by winning a trophy by improving existing players. After that, he went on revamping the whole club with heart and soul. He demanded quality and quantity from everyone including himself. He, of course, would have brief everyone on top on how he is gonna do it and the challenges along the way. Once he imprinted himself on the club, he proved his work with positive results on the pitch. Once the trust and reputation had been enhanced, we can see the transfer quality he was able to make this season. He is an outstanding example for the young managers and even young entrepreneurs in other industries. Hard work, honesty, patience, passion with a touch of outrageousness. I’m proud of him and everyone at the club.