Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola revealed that he is still in close contact with Mikel Arteta, adding that the Spaniard has the complete backing of Arsenal FC.
The pair worked together at the Etihad after the former Gunners captain decided to hang up his playing boots and take on a coaching role with the Citizens.
Arteta was building his reputation as a coach under Pep, before getting offered the role at Arsenal in December 2019, and his arrival as manager saw an immediate improvement from the team.
We went onto win the FA Cup in his debut season as boss, but our new season has been extremely rocky, leading to some calls for his job to be reconsidered.
Pep Guardiola however insists that his fellow manager’s job is not at risk, and that Arsenal are set to profit from this positive working relationship.
Pep said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Newcastle(via the Metro): “Arsenal… they trust with Mikel because I know him perfectly, they will make a step forward next season.”
This summer could be a difficult one, with the prospect of not having European football, with the financial implications of that, and we could also lose power in keeping some of our better players also.
It certainly sounds like Arteta will not have his job questioned this summer regardless, and I so want to believe that we can make strides next season.
Patrick
I wanted Spurs to stick with Moanrinho
Guess why?
Yeah, very true. What else is Pep going to say, after he spent all of last year gassing up Arteta saying how brilliant he is.
Fact is, when managers do a good job no one needs to come out and defend them or discuss their job security.
We are 3rd in the league behind the Manchester clubs since boxing day (when smith-rowe returned.) Kind of counters the narrative that there are no signs of progress doesn’t it?
Add to that Arteta has still has had no preseason and covid damaged Arsenal’s summers plan significantly more than other club in the league. A situation that existed because Arteta had not had a summer window in which to clear out players. We lost out on fees (and thus replacements) for multiple players who would of gone some of which we got stuck with their wage till Jan Kola/Sokratis. Some will still return this summer. Options like selling Laca with 2 years on his contract and getting a decent 40-50 mil direct replacement went out the window. It was a disaster not of Artetas making. We literally had to leave two players out the squad ffs.
Seriously in that context the fact we’ve objectively been the 3rd best team since boxing day is a real cause for optimisum going into next year. Fact Arteta also has an FA cup to his name already is another. As is the 3rd best defence in the league overall all season. Honestly feel like the majority of our fanbase is living in alternate reality. Thing is people read this and peps comments and still keep the exact same devoid of reality opinion they hold, so frustrating.
This club is like the Johnny Cash song……’Hurt’. For Pep to interfere in Arsenal business is more than shameful. Stats, and supporters eyes, tell the truth. Not even the most ardent Arteta fan can deny that. Arsenal have played poorly. Arteta supporters live in hope, and are not backed by probability, but more likely it’s the refusal to change their view. My respect goes to Jon for having that abilty to change……that is courageous. Better to cut the cord now than wait for a worse outcome.
I seem to remember certain Mr Wenger 3 years before he departed won the league title for jan to December one year. We still managed that year to finish 5th and eventually get sacked. The season runs from August to May and where you finish is how you have done. It a whole season not half.
And dont forget 13 defeats in a season, so far.
While I agree with your statement to some extent, there is a difference between playing good first half and playing good second half of the season. One of those is showing progress where the other is showing the opposite. It certainly cannot be simplified like that either as it depends on whether the team had the same available players and the form of the key players during the two periods.
With that being said I am currently not defending Arteta anymore, but instead I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as the numbers suggest improvement, although the play style does not. I really hope that with a two or three new class players and a pre season, Arteta’s plan will start working and we will start the next season in the best way possible, but if that is not the case, we can safely say that this project has failed pretty badly.
If you exclude the results you don’t like, for example all the losses (13 so far) Arteta Arsenal can be named “The new Invincibles”. This playing with stats lead nowhere and will not make the team better. The homegames against Liverpool (0-3) and Everton (0-1) was not played before Boxing Day, but recently, and they were awful games. Typical Arteta matches. What Arsenal need is an experiened coach/ manager (Rangnick, Simeone, Allegri, Rogers…) or we end up with a situation like last year, in position 15 after 12 rounds, and then the owner and board must sack Arteta anyway. But it’s much tuffer to get a top coach in late December. It should be done now.
It’s not playing with stats when it was when smith-rowe returned from injury. It is literally since boxing day we’ve been 3rd best hardly constitutes doom and gloom if it goes off the rails at the start of next year then fair enough but we’ve performed well now for a long period in the league. Considering the circumstances of our summer window/injuries it is perfectly understandable too that our start was slow. An objective opinion would be ok we’ve improved substantially (we’re once again literally 3rd) 2nd half of the season let’s see if that continues next year with more of a preseason and more a proper transfer window. It’s the cold hard facts not the emotional we’re in 8th waaa
(9th forgot about Everton’s point yesterday.)
Do you promise?
If it goes of the rails at the start of next year you will support ditching Arteta? What’s off the rails…..7th or worse by remembrance day?
It really seems that wrt to Arteta many supporters keep moving the posts. There is a cult like following for him. When are we going to draw the line?
It is support from websites like this that is helping Arteta keep his job. For me he has had enough time to prove his worth. I appreciate that others see it differently, but at some point we need to actual results.
Angus I hope Arteta proves you right. It seems he will keep in job so best of luck to him.
It’s objective facts. We started terribly but we’re 3rd since Christmas which is also fantastic. We’ve played the league in that time it’s not a cherry picked sample. How is it moving the goalposts? We also have had the 3rd best defence in the league a major improvement in an area everyone has moaned about for years. In any normal season people would be saying on the basis of a 1st season in charge that is reason enough to wait and see how it goes next year. In most cases with a case of excitement surrounding it and an expectation of a top 4 finish.
It seems to me because he took over mid-season everyone has forgotten it’s his 1st season. The fact of the matter is he had no preseason and summer transfer plans were absolutely decimated by a pandemic not that anyone ever seems to even attempt to take that into account. Not only do people not mention the fact the summer transfer was a write off, they actually go as far as to say things like “hes had 3 windows it his squad now.” Honestly you could not make it up, totally blinkered. This is a fact not a moved goalpost and it was a fact at the start of the season. Partey for example would of cost the exact same without the pandemic and arrived the moment the window opened instead of after the season had already started, Mhki goes for 15 mil instead of 1, Sokratis goes for 5-10 instead of being paid to train until a January free, Kola goes for 15+ allowing us to sign a replacement and that is just scratching the surface. Not even going to get fully into injuries which given our disaster of summer couldn’t be handled, no back up for Tierney being a major one. The fact you and significant amount of others ignore it is the only example of cult like behaviour going on.