Arsenal’s exit from the Champions League has left their supporters reeling, as it was the final opportunity for the club to win silverware this season. The defeat in Paris not only ended their European journey, but also ensured that the team would complete another campaign without a major trophy.
Another Season Without Silverware
Prior to their semi-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal had already watched Liverpool secure the Premier League title. They were also eliminated from both domestic cup competitions earlier in the season. The Champions League had represented their final hope of success, and the expectation from fans was immense. However, the result in Paris dashed those hopes and highlighted the fine margins at the highest level.
Mikel Arteta, who took charge of the club at the end of 2019, has overseen a visible improvement in squad performance and overall competitiveness. Yet, despite progress, the lack of tangible success remains a sticking point for many supporters. The FA Cup win in 2020 was the last major trophy for the Gunners, and fans are now desperate for more consistent achievement at the top level.
Calls for Arteta to Leave Grow Louder
According to Football Insider, some Arsenal fans have begun calling for Arteta’s dismissal following the defeat to PSG. Their view is that while the manager has brought the team close to glory, he may not be the individual to lead them over the line. For these supporters, another trophyless season is simply not acceptable given the resources and expectations at the club.
Despite the frustrations, there remains a strong argument that Arteta has built a solid foundation for future success. The team is now regularly competing at the highest levels of English and European football, something that had eluded them for years. While criticism is understandable, it is also fair to acknowledge the progress made during his tenure.
Arteta has instilled belief and structure into the squad, and with another summer to strengthen, there is every chance that Arsenal can return stronger next season. For now, reflection is required, but wholesale changes may not be the answer.
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No !!
No chance. Not yet. Shouldn’t even be a question that’s asked by any arsenal fan
100%
This article should have been put immediately after the game against Real Madrid
Rubbish!
Every team that has won the top league in the uk have a world class striker and forward supporting. Two yrs not buying one is incompetence. Ok, bad luck with injuries to Jesus and Havetz but they are forwards. I knew as soon as the January shut no striker, we would struggle and handed the title to LFC and toothless in the later CL stages.
My frustration with site is that the conversations are almost always about the manager. It’s like a court where the manager is ever on trial. Even in conversations where it’s not about the manager, the comments will always find a way to steer it into a pro/anti
diatribe . It’s been like this under Wenger,Emery and Arteta. Honestly, I find it tedious because in such arguments we get emotional and no constructive discussion happens.It was particularly toxic in the latter stages of Wenger’s tenure. I hope we don’t get there.
But here we are again, so I’ll give my take. A worker is only as good as his tools. What Arteta has had to work with has limited what could be achieved this season. Even with a fully fit squad, most fans will agree that our squad is still lacking in certain areas. Even if Arteta was sacked, these issues will still be there.I’d rather focus on addressing these immediate concerns than firing the manager.
I’ve seen Arteta assemble a competent group of defenders.We also have a diverse group of quality midfielders. On their day, Partey,Rice and Odegaard can match any midfield. We also have Merino,Nwaneri,MLS,Havertz and potentially a new signing.
From all indications, the focus will be on strengthening the attack this summer. I’d like to see what Arteta, with the support of Berta and the owners, can achieve in strengthening the attack which is the weakest link. If we still fall short after boosting the forward line, I’ll be more willing to move on from Arteta. Crucially, Arteta has the support of majority of the fans, the owners, the board and the players, so I don’t see him being fired anytime soon.
“A worker is only as good as his tools. What Arteta has had to work with has limited what could be achieved this season. ”
Immediately makes one think of the saying “a bad worker blames his tools”. This only makes sense if you believe arteta had no real influence over signings, at least in the sense of the types of players the squad needed, and could have done nothing to influence it. Over 5 years, he should have been able to push to get to a reasonably well balanced squad. From what I’ve seen, we’ve continually paid good money for defensive players, and tried to fill gaps in attack with relatively cheap signings – this is a big reason for him being limited. I don’t see how you can excuse that as not being his fault at all – either he has no influence over signings, which means the club aren’t listening to him or he isn’t a strong enough personality to push for the things he needs (don’t believe either of those), or he’s been a part of the decisions that have been made (seems much more likely to me), and so should own them.
I do agree, though, he’s going to be here for at least another year, and I’ll be interested to see how he can do it we can get a quality forward player.
Davi
Neither Jesus or Havertz were cheap options imo. Being good enough is open to debate of course. It depends as well if you consider the Auba deal that we had the egg timer for, as being an Arteta signing. It was a big pay rise and one that brought out concerns that the club had sanctioned too big a contract extension.
I’d be surprised if Arteta didn’t have any influence in the signings he made in conjunction with Edu
Fair points SueP – not sure that havertz really counts as a forward signing – it was clear the intention was for him to play in midfield and replace xhaka, but I don’t doubt he was always considered at least as potential cover up front (considering he played there a lot for Chelsea). I do think we were willing to spend big for mudrykh as well, but overall, I think there’s been a big mismatch in spending habits between attackers and defenders.
Of course, Arteta would have influence on signings and we have spent. Guess what, we have a reasonably balanced side. One that can challenge for the PL and the CL.
However, the problem with some fans is the assumption that this should guarantee trophies. We do not exist in a vacuum. We are up against other top teams who have also spent hugely and some were in a much better place before Arteta became manager. The squad we had when Arteta became manager was nowhere near good enough to challenge for major titles.
Look at MC for some additional context. They were already the best team in the league. Then they went and got Haaland who was widely regarded as one of the best in the world.
Real Madrid were already CL winners then got Mbappe.
Liverpool were already one of the best in Europe when Arsenal became manager. They have refreshed their team since then but many key members of their previous championship winning teams have been there for years.
You have to factor in the fact that over the last few years, the academy has come through for us in attack- Nketiah, Nelson, Saka and even Smith Rowe who played LW in 2021 I think. You can also add the incredible emergence of Martinelli. A cheap youngster from Brazilian third division who impressed under Emery. Of course the quality of these players is a different matter.
Compare that with our defense where the academy has produced nothing until MLS who was a midfielder anyway. Hayden too was a midfielder who moved to centre back and unfortunately emerged when we already had a good group of defenders.
Unlike the attack that already had Saka and Martinelli, the defence had to be built from scratch with the exception of Saliba,around whom there was an unfortunate saga at the time.
I think ESR originally came through at cam, before odegaard was signed (might be wrong, I know he played wide as well at times, for sure).
I have to say, I saw the contacts we paid to keep nelson and nketiah at the club were purely to avoid having to make additional signings to support the attack, while we focused on signing more defenders. I don’t think you can say quality is a different matter – if they weren’t good enough, then they were just bodies to paper over the cracks in the squad.
There is the young CB who moved to utd last summer(?) and is apparently going quite well – he was on the fringes for us, but that’s after we already had our defence assembled, as you said, so it was always going to be difficult to break through.
My main gripe is the sheer number of defenders we’ve signed in relative to the number of attackers – we went through rounds of defenders to get it right and imo did the bare minimum to the frontline. Really reminds me of Wenger buying attacking midfielders over and over and looking for cheaper options for the defence/DM – only when there was no other choice, it seemed.
Out of curiosity, if we could get back in time, which defenders would you rather the club not sign out of Gabriel, White, Tomi, Zinchenko, Kiwior , Timber and Calafiori? I have not included Mari,Luiz and Cedric who were mere stop gaps at a time we didn’t have the spending power we have now.
At the time, I’d have said white (and I’d have been wrong!) but now I’d say we probably could have avoided or gotten cheaper options instead of zinchenko, tomiyasu, kiwior and calafiori (not all of them perhaps, but at least two or three) and maybe prioritised another position at those times. We also signed players like tavares and lokonga, who weren’t cheap and weren’t really needed, when we could have gone for players in other positions. We did pay quite a lot for Vieira and so I have to say at least we tried with that one.
The frustration comes partly from the fact we’d already been through mari, luiz and Cedric prior to zinchenko, I believe. So it just felt like more and more defenders with the odd midfielder.
Tbf, we’ve been unfortunate with injuries – had tomiyasu not become so injury ridden, I don’t know if we’d have bought timber, for example.
Tomiyasu was needed. Bellerin was no longer the player he once was having lost his electric pace.Chambers and Cedric were deemed not good enough. I remember fans seeing RB as a key area for upgrade. The debate was even on here whether we should go for Tomi or Emerson Royal. Most preferred Royal. Tomi would go on to have an amazing season before the injuries started.
Zinchenko and Jesus were the catalysts for our title challenge. I wouldn’t change that even though the team has moved past them. Zinchenko was actually the cheaper option because according to reports, Arteta’s first choice was Lisandro Martinez, who ended up at United at nearly 15M more. A LB was definitely needed because of Tierney’s injuries.
Kiwior was relatively cheap. For a backup, I don’t see how you could get lower than that. And we needed a backup for Gabriel. Calafiori was needed too because LB was 100% our weakest link last season. Not much we can judge about that transfer yet because he has hardly had the opportunity to play due to injuries. For a player that was one of the standouts in the Euros, it was a no brainer.
Let’s be honest, Mari, Luiz and Cedric were signed when we were struggling. Ultimately they had to be replaced. Tavares was super cheap and was worth the gamble. I don’t know what attacker we could have got for the €7 million Tavares cost.
Lokonga was an emerging talent who was highly thought of. Outside of Xhaka and Partey, we had Elneny. It was a smart move at the time. Depth in midfield.
You say we could have gone for cheaper options. The most expensive player there was Cala at an initial fee of £33.6 million. Suppose we we went for Kerkez at £15.5 million, that leaves you with 18 million.I’m not sure that gets you a quality attacker. That doesn’t even get you Nketiah,who went for 25m.Attackers cost a lot more than defenders.
They say hindsight is 20/20. It’s easy to say this or that signing wasn’t needed. But if you were to get into the archives, you’ll find that most fans were supportive of these transfers.
I have to say I have enjoyed debating with you Davi. You disagree with me but in a very respectful manner and without making it personal. No name calling, just stating your opinions and counter arguments.That’s how it should be.
I concur – also, you’ve moved me a bit on this one. Looking at it coldly, it’s not as bad as I made out initially. The question of which defenders I wouldn’t have signed made a strong point. I think the point I’m trying to make is about opportunity cost, but it’s difficult to articulate.
(concur is probably the wrong word 😄 just mean I enjoy the debate as well)
I knew the issue of signings would come up but I thought my comment would be too long if I included my thoughts on it. It’s a subject that is difficult to comment on because we know very little about it unlike something like tactics which we can see with our eyes. For instance, we don’t know how much PSR has affected what can be done in the transfer window. Mikel may want a signing, but if it means violating PSR, there’s not much that can be done.
You could argue that the club didn’t invest heavily in attack because for a while, we boasted a front three of Martinelli,Jesus and Saka which nearly won us the league in 22/23. Back then,nobody would have predicted the decline of Jesus and Martinelli. In many ways, the situation of these two has necessitated new signings. In a different reality where the trio are still in that 22/23 form and available, there wouldn’t be many complaints.
Additionally, you need to move players on to avail spots and wages for new ones. I do believe they would have been open to sell Jesus but his wages are an issue. If they sold Jesus last summer, it would have been easier to sign someone else. In hindsight, they could have moved Nketiah on earlier because Arteta rarely played him anyway. That is probably the area I think they should have done better. His wages and spot could have got us someone like Tammy Abraham, for instance. Or Toney. Maybe even Watkins.
The saying “A bad worker blames his tools “ would make sense if we are actually bad. Man United are bad. Tottenham are bad. Second in the most competitive league and made it to the final four of Europe’s Premier competition. I wouldn’t call that bad.I’m yet to hear Arteta blame players but he has consistently called for reinforcements in attack. He was particularly vocal in January of this year- Dan Smith has reported this many times.
P.S. I think this PSR thing has all clubs shook. It wasn’t a factor before.Just like us, City, Liverpool and most of the league didn’t invest heavily last summer. For what it’s worth, I think it’s good for the Sport.
“The saying “A bad worker blames his tools “ would make sense if we are actually bad.” Fair enough – this was a tongue in cheek response to your saying a worker is only as good as his tools. I agree we aren’t bad, but I do think we’re struggling to break a barrier (if that makes sense).
“Back then,nobody would have predicted the decline of Jesus and Martinelli.”
Definitely not martinelli, but jesus did play poorly after his injury until the end of the season, and our second options for the position were really poor (trossard did well that season tbf, but nketiah was a big drop off) – I do think it was obvious at that point another CF would have been a key signing (not saying a new star striker, but someone to compete).
“I’m yet to hear Arteta blame players but he has consistently called for reinforcements in attack. He was particularly vocal in January of this year- Dan Smith has reported this many times.
P.S. I think this PSR thing has all clubs shook.”
Yup, I think there’s a link, but I find it hard to support arteta here when we have spent so much money during his time. I don’t find it surprising that there would be limitations at some point, whether that’s to do with new psr concerns or not.
This is a very good assessment. I have repeatedly stated that we need to discard emotions and be more objective. I do not believe that constantly changing managers is a remedy for any team. What is needed is critical examination of where the weaknesses were and address them. In Arsenal’s case, the obvious weakness was the failure to recruit a proven striker in the summer. This, coupled with numerous injuries, greatly undermined our season. The injuries were like the devil’s handiwork! I recall the Liverpool game where all our regular defenders got injured and yet we managed to get a draw and could even have won it if our goal had not been ruled out for offside. Let us recall that at different times the following first team players were out with injuries: Gabriel, White, Timber, Tomiyasu, Calafiori, Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Jesus and Havertz. This is almost a whole team! Added to this was the unjustified three consecutive red cards to Rice, Skelly and a third player whom I can’t remember now. This was not a normal situation for any team to bear. Instead of condemnation, we should commend our team for having survived all these scares and still remained competitive
I think it was Saliba. Tbh I thought he should have gone having made a last man foul. It was stupid rather than dangerous
Trossard got two yellows
The Liverpool game did indeed have a defensive crisis, made worse by Gabby going off injured. The team gave it their all and so nearly made it a victory
Skelly card didn’t cost us points though unless you mean the West Ham one ?
Have to disagree mate when you say we survived these scares and remained competitive
In 2025 we have failed to beat Newcastle twice , Man United twice , PSG twice , West Ham , Forest, Everton , Brentford, Palace and Bournemouth
Is that competitive?
I wouldn’t say we competed for the title really ?
It’s hardly surprising that Football Insider is drumming up the Arteta Out campaign, but I am surprised that they’ve only waited for one day. There’s obviously going to be the usual hate mob screeching for a new manager, we see it here often enough, but c’mon, it’s a very good team, mostly well coached, which just needs a couple more top class additions. Arteta isn’t the best out there, but as the song goes “If you can’t love the one you want, love the one you’re with”
I’m not Arteta in, or out yet, but the noise will get even louder when Man U or spurs (heaven forbid) win the Europa League, thus giving the winner a place in next season’s Champions League. The noise rising to a crescendo if we fail to finish in the top five and fail to qualify.
My personal opinion is this, it’s time to go! He has taken us as far as he can, I honestly don’t think he’ll ever get us over the line. He is a poor man manager, very poor at rotating the squad, tactically inflexible, talent ID stinks !! , too risk averse. I don’t understand how a manager that plays shite football and wins no trophies gets so much backing
I do not want Arteta to be sacked, I want him to actually learn from his mistakes and put his ego aside. In 5 years he’s been incapable of doing that (e.g he’s had 5 WHOLE years to buy a striker, the excuse we got no-one in Jan is just BS)
And now we have to deal with ManU/Spurs winning a European trophy while our cabinet gathers dust.
NB: People blaming injuries this year conviniently ignoring that the previous 2 season we were light on injuries…so whats your excuse then?
At the end of the day fans just want Arteta to be accountable for his actions, admits errors and improve on areas we need improvement…it’s not rocket science. Instead we have been getting childish excuses about everything under the sun why things went wrong, it’s cowardly to not take responsibility.
In my books he has until the end of August to review all of his actions in the transfer window and become more flexible. 1 September if it’s still the same dros then he’ll be in it deep.
The five years scenario is slightly misleading but it depends on your viewpoint regarding Auba who left in Feb22 and Jesus who arrived in July 22. Add to that we had Nketiah as a supposed front man
Not doubting the need for proper forward reinforcements as a top priority
Auba was outsted long before he left so wasn’t playing and the other 2 are far from what could be considered first choice striker.
From the moment he ousted Auba and knew he wasn’t in the plans, he’s had since then which is very close to 5 years. Let’s not try cover up failing to sign a striker with semantics.
It wasn’t so much failing to sign one to be honest as it was not really wanting 1 in his style of play. Which is fine but then stop making excuses and change and get a striker becasue the need is very clear.
Not trying to cover anything up with semantics. Last played for Arsenal in the December before he left in February 22 according to Sky Sports having been stripped of the captaincy. Discipline issues and Arteta was deeply disappointed by what transpired. He didn’t expect to be so let down
You may not approve of Nketiah but he went to Palace as a striker but I’m not disputing as I mentioned before, that a forward has been desperately needed and has been a blot on the Arteta/Edu record
Let me try to explain why we didn’t win it the previous two seasons. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t expect us to challenge in 22/23. Most fans would have been happy with 4th. As a matter of fact, most pundits expected us to finish 5th because City, Liverpool, United and Chelsea were perceived to have better squads. What were your expectations going into that season?
We massively over performed that season because that was unexpected. In the end, the better team prevailed, even if you ignore the Saliba/Tomi injuries which affected us. The treble winners had the best coach in the world, the best defence, the best defensive midfielder, the best attacking midfielder and the best striker in the world. We lost to the best team in the world. No shame in that. Player for player, and depth wise, they were better.
The following season 23/24, it was the same story. City still at their best. We had a slow start. The first half of that season had challenges. The team wasn’t clicking with the new signings. In hindsight, I think Partey was a big loss.Xhaka was a big loss too having played really well the previous season.But then we had the Dubai trip, Kai was doing well in his new CF role and we were near perfect for the second half but that wasn’t enough to beat the well oiled machine that City was.
In summary, we haven’t won yet because our squad isn’t complete and balanced enough to compete with the best. The gap is small, however, and we need three or four quality signings to get there. According to reports, this coming window should take care of that. I believe that’s why they got Berta. VVD and Alisson are the players that took Liverpool from also rans to genuine contenders. We need a similar caliber of players especially in attack to get over the line.
No is the answer, but next year will be a different story if the end result is the same.
This has been a tough year, having a poor summer transfer window where Edu didn’t secure that striker we needed, signed a player who even though will be very good was injured for the majority of the season. Then our winter transfer window plans were shot to peices when Edu decided to up sticks in November ( at a time we would have lined targets up for Jan) and leave us with no transfer guru.
Then the injuries to more or less every single member of the squad bar Jakob Kiwior, whilst losing our best players for 3 months or more. Take Van Dijk, Salah, Mac Allister out of Liverpool squad for 3 months each, the title looks very different.
Then we have seen the worst case of officiating from the PGMO that I have ever witnessed where every poor decision had an impact on our season. I feel with the way the refereeing has been this season, even if we had signed Nico Williams and Isak the PGMO would have found a way for us to lose or draw matches.
This summer is a massive window for Arsenal and Arteta. We need to shift the bloat, BvB apparently want Zinny – Sell him, Saudi want Trossard – Sell him, Juve want Kiwior – Sell him, There will be suitors for Jesus and he can’t stay fit the same for Tomiyasu so they should be sold too, is there room for Fabio Viera do we give him one more shot if not – sell him. Stirling will end a terrible loan, Tierney and Joginho are already out the door so we would have made some money and slimmed the wage bill to bring new higher standard players in.
With Zubamendi looking like a done deal and also Joan Garcia in the sticks. We need to follow up with serious upgrade of our forward line, wide players for both sides like Lookman, Williams or Cunha need to be brought in. Up top I would go for 2, Jonathan David is out of contract and sign Sesko. Leave Gyokeres well alone, he might prove me wrong, but he did nothing against us and only bagged 38 in 91 at Coventry in the championship, it stinks of Darwin Nunez to me. We need to tie down Partey, I see Nwaneri as Odegaards back up and long term replacement, so if we can get those wide men let him move to the middle.
This has been Artetas most difficult in charge for me and tbh he and the squad have coped well and tbh overachieved. Lfc we’re injury hit last year and did nothing in the league and almost lost out on CL qualification
We move on but i am expecting alot from Berta and Arteta next year
The assumption is that Arteta has learned his lesson and will grow from it.
Trouble is, after evidently struggling against PSG for the two legs, he claims Arsenal is the best in the Champions League. This seriously raises a lot of questions about him.
He might as well have learned nothing from his five years at the helm, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he orders another couple of left-backs with Partey superb at covering right-back for next season. To him, this apparently covers for the attack, as we’re missing no striker at all.
What’s there to improve on an already best Champions League team?
Arteta and arsenal want to win trophies but don’t want to strengthen they team properly that is why we keep falling short.
This was Arteta’s supposed first 11 for this season –
Havertz.
Martinelli. Odegaard. Saka.
Merino. Rice.
Calafiori. Gabriel. Saliba. White.
Raya.
Is this team capable of winning the premier league?
Nope
Arteta’s 2nd team.
Jesus.
Trossard. Nwaneri. Sterling.
Jorginho. Partey.
Zinchenko. Kiwior. Timber. Tomiyasu.
Neto.
SJ, the team you are toying with is the very one that gave Man City a run for their money two seasons in a row? Why didn’t you criticise them then? I don’t feel shy to say that without injuries we would have come out top and won EPL. Fortunately, a football season is a short period and soon we shall be back against the same opponents. We shall then gauge whether our team was truly bad or circumstances forced us into our predicament this season. Ifs do not change facts on the ground so I will rest my case until next season. Let us all pray for God’s protection.
let him sign a real striker then give him a season, if he fails again I think he has no excuses, he has established and overseen his project to this far. Arne slot first season booom! premier league, Amorim though he has failed spectacularly in EPL but booom! Europa League (God forbid if Spurs win).
koss, say we sign a real striker and it takes that striker a year to settle in, what then ? Will Mikel still get the blame ?
Since some of you think Arteta has a good team already then you all should pray he does not sign anyone and hope he does not have any injuries and watch if we will win anything.
But I know Berta is not that stupid though.
Even a blind man knows we need a Super Striker and I believe we will have one this summer with Berta in.
If the striker does not perform then Havertz you all’s love can take his spot back.
I’m positive a super striker like Gyokeres, Osimhen, Isak will surely perform in this team cause he will have lots of chances
Arteta does have a good team, in fact a very good team, but needs a couple of players to become an excellent one. You don’t get to the Champions League semis being rubbish.
I think we missed the boat this year. Liverpool can get 90 plus points next season. Pep will add to the squad and get his midfield general back, he can get 90 plus points. We can’t. Arteta is not as clever as Pep or Slott come to that. Liverpool have breezed the league this year.
If we are happy with top 4 and CL football (who got the boot for that?) Then Artetas the man. If we want to win things, then he ain’t. We can throw money at the team again but it is NOT the answer. He is not clever enough to win the big jugs.
Who did get the boot for top 4 and CL football Reggie ?
Wenger.
Or to be precise ushered towards a decision.
Nah, he got the boot because he didn’t agree with the new way the club were heading, ie, a DoF/SD.
Wenger wanted to stay on. He would have if he could.
Not with a DoF/SD Reggie. This is what he said in an interview on the 9/5/17.
“I am the manager of Arsenal Football Club and as long as I’m the manager of Arsenal Football Club, I will what happens on the technical front. That’s it.”
Don’t worry he was pushed.
Thats why he was so pissed for 5 years.
Yeah he was sacked a year into his new 2 year contract.
Questions need to be asked and he shouldn’t in the in untouchable position he has been the last few seasons. It’s quite simply time to start delivering results and silverware or find someone who can. I know we’re used to not participating in the treacherous manager merry-go-round that constantly is in motion. But it’s also no good to get stuck and convinced that a certain manager is bound to work out eventually. Rodgers everyone was so convinced by, but then Klopp came in and blew his achievements out the water. Is Arteta our Rodgers? Valid question. Next season I think we’ll see fans start to get very divisive. He has to deliver.
I hope Arteta isn’t the equivalent to Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool but I can see where you’re heading with the comparison, he having found his level in Scotland
The fans are already divided on the future of Arteta and you’re right that next year is likely to be make or break.
Liverpool took on an already successful manager in Klopp. Not instant success but very much the case of moving in the right direction followed on by league and CL success
My view on Arteta is that he came along at a time when City were virtually impregnable and this, of course, impacted Klopp/Liverpool and every other club too – with domestic trophies occasionally going elsewhere but the league was in City’s ownership.
When there is dissatisfaction at the end of a tough season and thoughts of a change in management takes off , there is a fine line between getting it spectacularly right or the complete opposite. As much as I believe Arsenal are a big club, there are bigger ones and the really good managers will be snapped up by those clubs. Alonso has just agreed to move to Madrid and certainly has the profile to suit Arsenal. You’d want him at your club. Not many Alonsos about unfortunately
It’s well known that like Arteta. Imo he is better than often made out, but I accept the lack of silverware is a major sticking point. I also think that he has a higher ceiling than Rodgers to use your example, and will be successful if he goes elsewhere.