Arteta must win the Premier League By Vivek Julka
Arsenal fans are slowly realising Mikel Arteta is not the man to take us over the line for major trophies.
When I called this out after the end of last season, my article was littered with comments protecting Arteta. Give him more time, let him have this summer to recruit, that is what was said.
An injury prone Riccardo Calafiori and an average Mikel Merino were signed. A finished Raheem Sterling was loaned in. However, he should be starting over Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard who have produced very poor performances recently.
Now, after dropping many points this season, fans are turning on the manager. If Arne Slot or Enzo Maresca win the Premier League in their first season, Mikel Arteta should be sacked there and then.
The excuses may ensue here from some fans, saying Slot walked into a ready-made team or Maresca inherited a billion-pound squad, but enough is enough now.
To not take advantage of Man City’s falloff this season after contending with them for the past two seasons, and then also let two new managers go past you is criminal.
The only way to rectify that is winning the Champions League, but looking at Arteta’s European record and the club’s record in general, that is very unlikely.
Domestic trophies have been thrown away by Arteta every season since he won his first and only FA Cup trophy, which was five years ago.
After over £800 million spent and his 6th season in, this is simply unacceptable. Arteta has taken us close but if he cannot finish the job this season he must be sacked.
Remember this, it is Arsenal FC not Arteta FC.
Vivek Julka
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“The excuses may ensue here from some fans, saying Slot walked into a ready-made team or Maresca inherited a billion-pound squad, but enough is enough now.”
I think it’s fair to say Liverpool started with a squad of very good players, including a core group of proven winners – I think their manager has freshened things up for them and deserves massive credit for getting the most from them so far, but he really did have everything there for him. It will be incredibly disappointing if they win it after we went relatively close recently, but they are a serious squad of players who know how to win. That doesn’t mean slot isn’t out won’t be a great manager – just saying, Liverpool is not just a squad of good players, it’s a squad with proven winners (something we don’t have).
Maresca may have inherited a billion pound squad, but arteta hasn’t spent a whole lot less than that, and he’s been able to influence how that money has been spent – if Liverpool do somehow collapse and it’s Chelsea, not us, who take advantage, I’m sure that would be far more difficult for fans to forgive.
In my view, it does feel like arteta is close to the end tbh. He really needs to turn it around this season and at least run it very close, otherwise I do think fans will turn.
Agree with your comment Davi. I’m simply glad that Vivek doesn’t own the club. Sadly, after experiencing the Wenger Out days, I have to admit you may also be right about the fans turning on MA and forcing the owner’s hand. I have my own doubts about whether we will ever win the EPL or UCL titles under MA but as we saw the last two seasons especially, that can have to do with many factors which are beyond any manager’s ability to fully control. In any case, what he has accomplished should be appreciated.
There is no excuse saying Arnie Slot inherited a good squad. A man that inherited a good squad and performing great or wins the league in his first season and a man that has had the opportunity of building a good & strong team in five years and fully supported by the club. Who should be applauded? What of the transformation that Makes a has brought to the previously fumbling Chelsea. If five years is not enough to build a winning team, even ten years will never get you anywhere. I think Arteta lost the title last year due to misplaced priority. Arteta’s preference was on the champion’s league quarter final match against Bayern that made him drop five first team players from the starting eleven against Aston Villa with priority placed on a match he knew that Arsenal wasn’t going to get to the final talk less of winning it last season. Winning the Aston villa match at the Emirates would have given arsenal the title with one point advantage over Pep Gaurdiola’s Man city. So he should humble his ambition and give priority to every small game at hand.
What will you do if either Liverpool or Chelsea win the league and yet Arteta still keep is job?
Hopefully he will never post on here again!
What will he do if neither liverpool, chelsea or The Arsenal win the PL?!
Liverpool or Chelsea will win the League, Arteta will go and Vivek will take over and lead the club to its first treble
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What utter nonsense. Although Russel Martin is available so…
Wow, I’m astonished at this. We have seen an incredible level of progression of the team in terms of strategy and quality with Arteta at the helm. Standards have improved, results have improved, we’re playing great football and we’re near the top every year. Don’t you remember what it was like before Arteta? Who would you have to replace him?
Well said
If you you don’t remember you haven’t been a gooner for long. It was exactly the same we in the top four almost every season and winning the odd Fa cup. Now we don’t even compete for the latter.
Why astonished? It’s a result based sport . At least in the declining Wenger years, he could still win cups. Emery wasn’t given anytime. whereas Arteta has been (and money) which was correct as it was he first post managerial post. Arteta has done well but needs to win something soon.
As for “we’re playing good football” Are we this season? It has been a pretty poor season where good players went/want away ESR, Ramsdale, Nelson, Tierney and now Kiwior. Players poorly performing Martinelli, Trossard, Jesus, Zinchenko etc Dare I say it but are the players beginning to lose faith in Arteta? Maybe he should cut out the double speak ( eg
started with Ramdsale and more recently Tierney and Sterling). I’m sure he can turn it around but it is not surprising questions are being asked as in my first line, it is a results based business
Spot on mate.
STARTING TO SOUND LIKE AFTV LOL
That is the biggest insult indeed! This is ONE Arsenal fan opinion up for discussion.
Klopp left Liverpool in a good position. One poor season by their standards but an improvement last year
Chelsea are a different kettle of fish and whilst they bought up anyone who was available, paying top dollar in the process, they were in a mess. Enormous credit goes to Maresca for sorting through the wheat from the chaff and to Chelsea for getting Palmer who has been fantastic.
Both are doing very well. What is premature is to write off Arsenal in mid December. By all means have a crack at his poor tactical nous and dire signings in February or March when more can be gleaned about the season at cup and league level, but to be lining Arteta up in front of the firing squad in mid December is ludicrous.
Luckily for Klopp, he had already won the league and UCL once or I guess the pool fans would have been demanding his head by December. Maresca does deserve credit regardless for doing what would be expected of a PL manager with those players available (including Palmer). I believe Boehly keeping his butt out of the dressing room rather than undermining his manager’s authority has been a big improvement.
As always Sue you are voice of reason. Three league defeats in 2024 and suddenly Arteta has a target on his back. Now I know why other fans call us fickle….
Fickle is not the only thing they call us
Bit it’s also because some fans acted like we had achieved something and stated to become arrogant , comparing Arteta to Wenger or current team to Invincibles, etc
Agree with the article top 4 is not a trophy and we cannot accept this. If it was not a trophy for Wenger it can’t be an acceptable trophy for Arteta.
Win a major trophy or move on
Yea, win a major trophy or move on…
5 years is a lot of time to give a coach and with the financial given. There isn’t really any further excuse.
You want to win a major trophy without a proven striker.we have mostly been scoring from set pieces arteta should get a fine finisher infront of goal then he sees the difference.
Sws
The reason for Wenger describing top4 as a trophy was because it gave the club much more money and with that money coming in on a regular basis, the likelihood of challenging year after year. He delivered on that until his final 2 years which was a sad way to leave the stage.
Come May, if it goes pear shaped, and we finish a close 2nd or 3rd, then its ok to give Arteta the boot is it? I know its been said before, but there is an enormous sense of entitlement in some quarters.
Err sws, it WAS a trophy for Wenger, that’s how he kept his job that long!
If Liverpool or Chelsea win the league in the first season of a new manager then every bogus process some say we are going through will be proved BS. Arteta MUST win the league or at least CL this season. Otherwise there is a massive argument he never ever will. He has been building this team for 5 years and both those other managers wouldn’t have. They will have come in and improved what was already there. We laughed at the Chelsea process, but is it going to trump our stuttering process? Prove you are up to it, we can’t keep making excuses for the inexcusable.
I had and have my reasons for thinking right from the off, Arteta can not win the premier league. Managers who win the league have generally won a league before, maybe another country but they have proved themselves. With the exceptions of Ranieri and back to Kenny Dalglish. It is very rare.
I guess you have to begin somewhere.
Slot has a better record than Maresca so it would take some doing for both Arteta or Maresca to dislodge a previous winner of the Eredivisie on the basis of your points about Ranieri and Dalglish and the rarity of that achievement.
It has made me think that should Arsenal decide to dispense with Arteta at the end of the season, what would the Board do? Probably not get an up and coming manager
You speak like GenZ
Claudio Ranieri has won 2 League Title before coming to Leicester City
Well, tell me where? And if you are right IF then that makes it even rarer. At least tell us where then?
And dont say league 2 or 3. I mean proper leagues.
Plus, you obviously don’t have a clue about me with your character guess. Wrong again.
Arteta had indicated that he was using a process to improve the team over and has given insights into this which were described as phases. It is clear that the team and the squad have improved over the last few years. So to suggest that this was all “BS” is disingenuous.
Unfortunately, Arteta’s predecessors did not leave a sound enough foundation to build on unlike Liverpool and to an extent Chelsea. The new managers at those clubs as a result do not require the same time to build a squad due to what was already available.
At this time when the team is having some setbacks the manager and players need the support of the fans. Unfortunately, there is such a surfeit of negative, disagreeable rhetoric that is quite astounding. No wonder then the observation that Arsenal have some horrible fans.
And to keep defending the undefendable David is like putting your fingers in your ears and going BLA BLA BLA BLA. You may come up with all the excuses undercther sun but that is what they are excuses for not doing what we should be doing. How many years are you going to keep making excuses? He has to do it this, end of.
So, what phase are we going to be by next season?
Imagine title winning teams needing all these phases before they can win.
Just listen to yourself.
Once again David needs reminding what MA inherited.
A squad that had finished 2nd in the league, won the fa cup and contested a European final, while never finishing below 6th and ensuring European football for over two decades in the last five years (phase five?!)
After winning the fa cup and CS with the above squad, MA embarked on his five phases to improve on those facts.
To date, we have finished below 6th twice, we have got nowhere near winning the fa cup, dropped out of Europe and spent over £700 million on new players, while giving away others and we witnessed some questionable signings.
On the other side of the coin, we have seen the unification of the club and its supporters, the possibility of winning the PL twice, the return of European football and the quarter final of a domestic Cup.
There have also been some great signings.
The fanbase seems as split as it was during Arsene’s last few years and the same headings are involved :
Favourite players – square pegs in round holes – injuries – use of the substitutes – out of the title race – signing of players – amount of control within the club – refereeing decisions – VAR bias – after match interviews… it’s just a groundhog day with poor old UE sandwiched in between!!
Now we all know what happened when the A(rsene) OB lot got their wish and we plummeted to new depths of despair… how do we know that the new A(rteta)OB won’t suffer the same fate?!
Give it to the end of the season, see what happens in the January window and get behind the club – that’s my opinion and that’s what I’m going to do.
Remember Ken ,David isn’t the only Arteta fan making excuses ,( take it easy 😂)a few JA fans that like to deride a certain number of fans while hiding behind the admin (they know who they are )need your factual wise words themselves that you have given to David (lols) the Arteta six , might be Severn now .
I know very well what Arteta inherited so spare me the sneering and patronising – the likes of Sokratis and Mustafi in defence.
Arteta inherited a much diminished Ozil strolling about the place (but Slot by way of comparison has inherited an all time great in Salah who is still one of the world’s best players). We had Torreira anchoring the MF who had been hailed initially due to the terrible mess in MF left by Wenger. Torreira wouldn’t get on the bench of this squad.
We have had two draws in three game but you and your acolytes are jumping up and down. Before Emery left we had the longest winless run in more than two decades. Yet we have had people coming to tell us how much better he was until they’ve now shut up due to Aston Villa’s recent inconsistencies. We got to a final where we didn’t show up and got hammered. Are we really supposed to look back on that with some kind of contentment?
Wenger’s second place finish which was several seasons before Arteta came has often been referenced. That team ended with 71 points. We were 10 points behind Leicester. That that kind of points total is being held up as equivalent to what the current team have done is a joke. Wenger’s last CL team saw us humbled out of the tournament with barely a whimper.
This team is far superior to what Wenger left behind so please stop with the false comparisons and nostalgia.
Yet they can’t win a trophy!
You seem to judge AW and UE on that simple result, so I understand why others will judge MA in the same way… you, on the other hand don’t!
You rightly mention the likes of Mustafi and Sokratis, so let’s Delve into some of MA’s signings shall we?
Runarrson, Matt Ryan, Willian, Lokonga, Pablo Mari, Cedric, Marquinhos, Tavares, Ceballos… how many of these would have got into either AW or UE’s squad of players that won MA his only trophy?
MA inherited Saka and Saliba.
We can’t judge AW ‘s last CL results with MA’ s as this is his first season out of five in the CL.
You seem to believe that Arsenal supporters are sneering and patronising you because we had two draws in three games – what we are pointing out to you is that you judge MA completely differently to AW and UE.
Isn’t it about time you judged Mikel on HIS squad, HIS results, HIS transfers and HIS five years in the hot seat?
Of course this current squad is superior to the squad that won him his only trophy, as well over £700 million has been spent on it… the point is, he hasn’t won anything with them…. while the mess he inherited did.
As I said, I’m fully behind MA, but not blind to his errors.
Well returned Ken. Babooom!!!!!
You are the one who is judging solely on trophies. I didn’t mention the trophy count of any manager. This is not the first time you have made a dishonest attribution and it really needs to stop. Wenger went many years without winning a trophy but many fans do not hold that against him due the circumstances he had to deal with.
The point I was making was that it was necessary to rebuild the squad given the team Arteta inherited. This is something widely understood but you have never been honest enough to acknowledge. Instead you reference the fact Arsenal had come second without any consideration of the context of that second place finish. The same thing you have done with stating that we got to a final or that we never got below 6th.
Those of you shouting for titles still refuse to acknowledge that winning the PL (or in fact any title) in the last few years has been much more difficult with the rise of the likes of Guardiola’s MC and Liverpool.
My view of Arteta is based on the context in which we currently exist. Chelsea have spent a billion on players. And this is a team that has won the CL in the last 5 years. Liverpool were well ahead of us with a great transfer strategy and world class manager. They have never let up although they have had a relatively poor year recently in large part due to injuries.
MC had hoovered up talent for a decade and then hired a manager who has been widely regarded as one of the best the PL has ever seen. These are some of the realities we are competing against. We had a relatively uncompetitive roster when Arteta became manager. Therefore stating that we have spent X amount is meaningless without further insights.
As of now we are yet to reach halfway through the season and a bunch of you are pouring out negativity due to a few setbacks.
I am sure some are saying they are behind Arteta; just so that they put the knife in.
I largely agree with you David in terms that many don’t recognise- for whatever their personal reasons are – that Arsenal was not in a good place.
If they can acknowledge that AW wasn’t quite the force he had once been and that his successor made a complete horlicks of it then Arteta inheriting a mess would not be the topic of conversation. Yes, it’s fickle how Emery was so hard done by but then gets elevated only for it to go quiet lately. He had won European trophies and managed PSG so more was definitely expected.
I’m fine with the concern expressed early on regarding Arteta. It wasn’t always an easy watch and there was the difficulty in moving on players with little or no value but I saw as some others did that there was something growing- albeit slowly.
What I find incredible is the level of anti Arteta sentiment being expressed at the present time, especially when taken in the context of our season’s difficulties with injuries and compounded by the red cards and two new recruits on the left not having opportunities to gel yet.
Of course, to some, I’m making excuses because Arteta is actually not very good and has been found out on the basis of less than half a season where we currently lie in 3rd. If we finish 5th or 6th I’ll definitely have a rethink. When I wanted UE out we were hovering below mid table and getting worse – certainly not 3rd in the table
Sue, don’t most new managers inherit a mess?
Well Emery didn’t Sensible gooner
Slot didn’t
Pep didn’t
Most Chelsea managers under Abramovitch didn’t
Brighton’s recent managers didn’t
It depends on how bad the mess is of course. Some is self inflicted by the owners if you consider the post Ferguson years and Spurs who should have done better but haven’t been well served by Levy.
So why did the previous managers get sacked, if all was hunky dory.
This is a reply to Reggie as I can’t reply directly to you.
Not every new manager comes into a club that has sacked its manager. AW was a bit different. Was he sacked or allowed to retire gracefully? Brighton has had managers poached by other clubs. Slot took over from a manager who retired and left the place in good order. Chelsea were an unusual situation. Quite often, Abramovitch was reactionary, even if there was nothing particularly going wrong. He had the money to pay off and re-hire without a second thought just to maintain supremacy. Man CIty since 2010/11 have not been out of the top 4 – which was once, so not in a bad place
I hope that clears up where I was coming from
Re. Your last paragraph David.
Why do you think any Arsenal supporter would want to do that?
As for the rest of your post, I haven’t the strength to keep pointing out to you your double standards, but here’s one.
You say how city and chelsea changed the PL yet they became the all powerful money backed clubs from 2008 and 2005 resespectivally… so wasn’t it difficult for AW from that date onward to win either the PL or CL?
Yet you dismiss his last CL effort as being humbling?!
I agree with you David. The sense of entitlement from many Arsenal fans is a really ugly thing to see.
The club was in decline when Arteta took over. Tough times were ahead – the first phase of pulling the club out of its death spiral was getting rid of the bad influences, some of whom were costing a fortune and hampering efforts to improve the club due to their enormous wages, which they were not justifying with their on-field performances and attitude problems causing apparent behind-the-scenes issues.
Results were going to go down in the short term, simply because fixing things often makes them worse before they get better.
But some people here take those bad seasons and hold them up as “evidence” of Arteta’s failures. They’re nothing of the sort, they’re evidence of a club in crisis going through the pain of recovering – kinda like Chelsea and Liverpool over the last couple of seasons.
They also ignore the financial situation of PL clubs, all of which now have rich owners with ambitions. Not to mention the extent to which refereeing decisions make the difference in a tight title race – that’s said without getting into bias etc, just the fact they got it wrong, for whatever reason, means that one decision made differently could see the title at Arsenal instead of City last season.
Chelsea and Liverpool were always going to get better at some stage, but most assumed it would be like the last 2 seasons, a 2-horse race between Arsenal and City. It’s usually the assumptions that lead to surprises and disappointment.
I’m happy that Arsenal has become a competitive club again in the sense of competing for major honours. If you do that over a few years, be in the mix at the late stages of competitions… then you will win some of those things.
That’s how Liverpool, RM, Barc etc have done it over decades in the CL – and more recently Chelsea. Be up there in the mix at the business end of a competition and over time, you will have a history of winning (some) stuff. That’s how Arsenal’s domestic history has been as well – always up there, winning a few over the years.
Expecting Arteta to get sacked over not winning a trophy in the day and age in nuts to my mind. Will you be happy if he win the the league cup?
Jeez. Didn’t realise I wrote that much 😬
A very good read, Neutral
Yes, well written.
But Ken, why do you often love comparing these two managers by pitching them against each other…. It’s becoming a cliche…
You are absolutely right to say that you should be careful about what you wish for. As for the relentless rhetoric on JA surrounding the last handful of results, I believe it could very easily undermine the rest of the season. Yes Ken 1945 – save it until the end of the season and face whatever the consequences of our league position are then. Now is not the time.
Absolutely 100% SueP…. meanwhile let’s stop talking about AW and UE, they’ve been gone many seasons, along with their players.
That would certainly help tensions
Very true, he should have built on the 2nd finish/EL losing finalist and improved. He created turmoil within the club, finished 8th twice, spent millions in sub standard players, regains 2nd spot and his fans / Arteta Knows Best club applaud him as if he won the EPL / UCL. A smart Slot did not disband the Liverpool team that finished 3rd neither Enzo disbanded the CFC team which finished 6th. Both managers don’t go collecting flops from direct rivals or try to prove a point that they can change declining carriers. I want Mikel to succeed, because his success is the club’s success, but his naive decisions is hurting the club, players morale and fans worldwide. Arsenal fans are told to be patient, don’t dream big, accept mediocrity., accept top 4 finish as an achievement (in spite of the investment), ignore cup competitions, watch boring / slow side/back passing, etc. Why?
A lot depends on whether you think Arsenal were in turmoil before Arteta was appointed
If you don’t, then Emery would still be in post. Finishing 5th, losing the dressing room and failing abjectly in Baku and all of this would have been put right by the end of season 2021/22. By now, Emery would be the pride of north London having shown Pep a thing or two. It didn’t work out like that though unfortunately.
As for Slot, there was nothing to disband. Klopp left them in3rd place with CL football. How do you reconcile the 2 different situations?
I think mainly Sue Arsenal was in turmoil because Emery lost the dressing room. Not because they were bad players. They did manage to play one good game and win the FA cup. Arteta chose to completely dismantle the team and now we expect this one to be better. Given the unprecedented expenditure. Given that that was always the default excuse that our fans gave about our competitors, they bought their team, that why they won.
Reggie
I have to ask what it was about Emery that caused the players to down tools. Prior to the end of season the team had been nailed on for 4th and it went downhill from there. Where was the pride by the players and why does a section of the JA family think that Emery was hard done by?
As for the players, who in particular stands out to you as good? Or to put it another way, good enough?Auba was but something went to his head.
Emery had the 3rd highest win% of any manager Sue, so not that bad. Were the team that bad? It was littered with experienced players who had won leagues and cups. Goalkeeper Martinez , Saka, Martinelli, Lacazette, Ozil, Xhaka, Louis, Tierney, Willock, ESR. And a few more, including Gouendouzi, who under Emery looked the part. The only 2 that are still in the team are Saka and Martinelli. They won Arteta a trophy but Arteta basically thought they were mostly not good enough. He may or may not be right but now this is his assembled team, that can’t get over the winning line. Repeatedly falling short, for whatever reason. Are they better? On the face of it, yes. Underneath?
Reggie
Emery had a very good start but what was it that caused the players to turn?
I needed to check on the squad which I did.
Martinez is the only one that got away in my book and I don’t regret the loss of the rest – Chambers,Holding, Bellerin – although his injury weakened him & Lacazette was nearing the end as was David Luiz. You probably know my view on Guendouzi.
You didn’t answer why they rebelled but I rather think Ozil might have been in the mix
Agree SueP.
People choose to forget or re-write history.
Mentioning Guendouzi in the way Reggie did seems weird – it wasn’t about football ability, the guy had personality issues.
For example, gloating at the Brighton players over how little they earn was such a bad show – he had to go.
Arteta had so many bad apples to get rid of – and the club know that.
If Slot and Maresca top Arteta in their first year, then it would be more than fair to ask questions and expect more next year. Hundreds of millions backing Arteta, patience, and control should amount to more than a top 4 finish.
I would not sack Arteta, but this 5 year investment in “the process” must culminate into something tangible, a major trophy, or a trophy of some kind.
Otherwise, what is this “process” or “project” leading towards?
Is top 4 now considered a trophy again?
We have devolved back into Artetaball that we saw earlier in his tenure as manager. IMO a change in approach and tactics is the more immediate need rather than spending millions more in the market.
What if we get a striker, winger, and midfielder, but continue to play the same possession-based slow build up, with static positioning and predictable attacks focused through Odegaard and Saka?
New parts in the same machine won’t necessarily improve the function or efficiency of the machine; sometimes you need to change the tactics and approach. Perhaps that time is approaching
He should be sacked if we don’t win a major trophy this season, end of story. Just like Wenger should have been tossed to the kerb when Leicester won the title. Do the owners have the bottle for it ?
So perhaps every other club should also have been sacked when Leicester won the league? What a plank!
A lot of them did GB, except us. And they didn’t accept it either. But pray, what has Leicester got to do with Liverpool and Chelsea?
Absolute garbage Liam!!. So every PL manager should have been “tossed to the kerb?”
Just listen to yourself and you call yourself a supporter?!
I assume you think city115 should throw Guardiola to the kerb, Klopp should have as well as it took him so long to win the PL?
Have you EVER thought of supporting your club through thick and thin?
because both seasons the big boys never showed up. For years leading up to the Leicester win all we heard from Wenger is we cant compete because of the money being spent yet a team like Leicester can win it. Furthermore if Wenger went against his philosophy and bought a pure dm we could have easily won the league that season. This season the big boy man city have crumbled and its two PHASE ONE managers competing. Both managers shown that they couldn’t get across the line and the Man city excuse cant be used.
So what philosophy are you talking about now Liam?
Please direct me to where I can read what you, obviously, have found out about Arsene Wenger.
Does Mikel Arteta have the same philosophy ABOUT a CF?
The most annoying thing of all here is that just like under Wenger fans have become too attached to the coach. The other is you would see fans calling other fans who have supported Arsenal for decades fickle. Sometimes I feel like we Arsenal fans hate big trophies. It like we are convenient with underachieving.
The club will not sack him .
An undeserved massive new contract as seen to that .
The excuses will roll and roll and roll ,there will always be an excuse for his shortcomings ,just reading above shows that .
I suppose he might still win us a major trophy this year ,so not alls lost .
I’ve just read that, if MA was to be sacked at the end of the season, it will cost the club….. £26, 000,0000.
If that’s the case, then how stupid were the club to renew his contract. Given that he hasn’t provided a League winning side yet.
It’s hindsight I know, but it looks like they should have waited one more season, see what happened, and if he won the League then offer him a new contract then.
Now they’ve put themselves in a position of if they don’t want to pay him off, there stuck with him.
Yet more brilliant decision making by the club.
I just saw this quote from MA on arsenal.com
“We’ve won two Charity Shields too”
This is embarrassing.
MA is point at the trophies he’s won.
My opinion: MA HAS GOTTEN TO HIS LIMIT, HE CAN’T TAKE ARSENAL FURTHER
Tomi A,
I also saw that quote, the Charity Shield is just a season curtain raiser, nothing more nothing less. But to class them as two trophy wins is worrying from an Arsenal point of view.
If Arteta really see’s them as a barometer for his teams success, then the owners need to sit up and take notice of a manager with that attitude.
I also read in the piece, when Arteta was asked about Nwaneri. Hos response was that Nwaneri can play right or left midfield, and then he said he can see him playing as a 9 in a couple of years.
Looks like if he’s still at the club, Arteta’s planning to keep putting square pegs in round holes.
Straw clutching. It is a trophy but it is a glorified made up friendly, to raise money for Charity.
Reggie,
Spot on.
Arteta is a midfield defensive minded manager, fears losing over an attacking style.
He will not win the league his best chance was last year but without a game changer type player in the squad he cannot win those tight games as proven last week end.
Unfortunately Arsenal are not ruthless in their management so we will plod on like this.
Chelsea and Liverpool are lucky Arsenal and Mancity are experiencing a tough time, Pep is lucky, he narrowly won the league so the decline can be forgiven unlike Arteta that missed out. Arteta would have easily won the league last season if the indomitable Man city fell like they are this season. Credits to Slot and Maresca but it is not over until it is over. Don’t write off Pep yet
It’s pretty obvious that Arteta has done well in the past three years but my only problem is no obvious progression. In my view the 22/23 team was superior to the current one even with the addition of Declan Rice. Some may not agree but I miss Granit Xhaka. I also do not like talk of sacking any manager particularly if they finish in the top four of the Worlds toughest league. If we finish in the top three I believe MA will be safe, but a word of caution, as poorly as City have played recently we are only 3 points ahead.
Owners of Football Clubs sanction the acquisition of costly players, on the assumption that the performance of the team will improve.This season I do not feel we have improved in terms of the quality of our football nor in the likelihood of us winning trophies.I shall be delighted if Arteta goes on to prove me wrong, but I doubt if he will.Tactically our Manager has become obsessed with possession based control where our full backs are used to support a midfield which does not include a player who can run off players with pace to divert the possession.Because of this and the fact that our front three rarely interchange, and you have a team which is difficult to beat, but relatively easy to defend against.Until these risk averse tactics change we have little chance of overtaking Liverpool nor of winning the Premier European trophy.
I have to agree
MA has done a fantastic job getting us back into the top 4 and Champions league. I’m truly grateful
But I don’t think he knows how to get to the next level. He’s made a silly signing with Havertz. I like Havertz. But the money could be spent better. Also sometimes MA puts players in the wrong positions and this affects our results
5 years is a fair amount of years but we need a manager who can get the best out of our players
Very sensible talk Stephanie.
The author is NOT WRONG. If the Kroenkes had given Wenger £750 million he would still be here.
my mates [Chelsea, Villa, Spurs, Ipswich] could not believe there really was an Arteta Out movement, I had to show them this nonsense to prove it’s real, they were shocked, and gob-smacked by the hate, and i felt embarrassed to be an Arsenal fan
If you felt embarrassed to be an Arsenal fan, why show them in the first place then?!
I have chelsea, villa, spud, ipswich, city115 and pool fans who understand why we are asking questions, because they do the same thing… nothing to do with hate, otherwise they wouldn’t be supporters of their clubs would they?
Ken1945,
Well said.👍
If any teams finishes above us at the end of the season and wins it then they deserve it as did city or pool in recent times who finished ahead of us.
To many fans already hanging out the team and manager before we are even at the half way stage
Personally I always had down, it is a marathon and not a sprint.
I am not happy in recent weeks of just picking up 2 points but am happy we are still in there and not losing
Maybe some fans have become to complacent and just expect and all this talk of bringing up time after time the manager has spent £800m. Wrong. It’s the clubs money and the club owners have sanctioned it. It is there money.
Do you honestly think they are stupid enough to give a person that amount of.money to spend over a period of time without trust and doing there due
diligence. Business people and very successful plus do you remember what kind of squad and first team we had.
A team that couldn’t compete with the likes of the spuds. How sad are we and how short of memories some of you have.
Me, I await to see where we finish at the end of the season before start shouting my mouth off
I do hope we go on to win something big. Not just for the sake of it to prove we are on the right path but just to shut some of you up for good
Onwards and upwards
Yes, I do agree with you. This should be his last season because he seems to have given us his best and we are grateful for all that.
Music to my ears
In the context of this season, I do feel more sorry than angry when comes to Arteta.
The 3 early sending offs cost us 7pts (which would currently have us top), and the crazy the amount of injuries has made a huge difference!
There are quite a few idiotic fans living in la la land that believe injuries are just an excuse, but the reality is that they make it harder to win games. Just look at Real and City as a great example of this. The two most successful clubs in Europe over the last 5 years or more, with the two best managers in the world, and they are struggling because of injuries.
Do you think Liverpool would be where they are without Salah for a couple of months? Not a chance!
So whilst Arteta has definitely made harder for himself because of poor tactics, etc, I do feel it’s been tough on him this season with so many personal missing or half fit.
That said, the over-arching context is that he’s had 5 years, and no trophy since 2020. No final since 2020. No semi-final since 2021.
He’s had enough time now, and has to win a trophy this season, or he needs to go. I am not even sure a League Cup should be enough to keep him, although it depends how we do in the other comps.
It will be very damning if Liverpool, or especially if Chelsea finish above us though.
Well said.
We won’t win the league so it’s up to you fans to decide what is an acceptable standard. The process has stalled. Looking at the personnel we now have available it’s looking like case of two steps forward and three steps back. I can’t crow about the likes of Kiwior, Merlo, Jorghino, Jesus, Stirling, Harvetz,Trossard and Zivchenko being champions. If you guys believe in them then good luck to you. In any case someone has to take responsibility.
Sincerely I think Arteta has reached his limits. I pray I am proven wrong at end of current season. His mentality and tactics are very serious causes of concern.
Arteta is earning a lot of money which can only be justified by trophies. We are The Arsenal one of the top clubs in world football. Our manager must be judged by winning trophies and losing whilst trying to win. With Arteta he has been lucky to get good financial backing which must be rewarded by trophies. He has done really well but the question is are we going to win the league with him. He has been obsessed with removing most of the players he inherited at the club some who sholuld be at the club and serving us well. How does he justify sending a utility and quality player like Maitland Niles for free? IMO none of the right backs we have used since his departure have been better than him. The whole team has been better but individually he should have been there. Has Jorginho and Lokonga done better than Torreira? is Raya and Ramsdale better than Leno and Martinez? Is Jesus better than Lacazette? Is Sterling better than Nelson and ESR? These are some of the decisions that have affected his progession to win a major trophy. He needs to focus on finding players that win make us champions the same way Klopp did with VVD, Allison, Mane, Fabinho and Salah.
The team from last season just needed to add striker and another attacking midfielder to give us a different dimension to Odegaard. We could have used the funds we used on Calafiori and Merino to get Isak or Watkins. We need another 10 like Witz to challenge Odegaard. However Arteta will not do this as he has his favourite players whom he has brought to the club and are untouchable.
His use of players and tactics sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. We are struggling this season just because he wants to use Partey as a right back and acommodate Merino in the midfield and judging from his previous actions our best midfielder Partey may be on his way out. He plays you out of position and then you are out.
If Arteta doesn’t win the league then he must go. The club can only get bigger and better if the owners demand success.
Well explained! I can’t write more. “Obsession with removing players he inherited” spot on. I will add this ” obsessed with clinging on to substandard players he has signed hoping to prove his critics wrong “
Havertz.
Sterling. Odegaard. Saka.
Rice. Partey.
Skelly. Gabriel. Saliba. Timber.
Raya.
Sadly I gave up on Arteta at the end of last season after we blew the league for a second year in a row, it ain’t happening under this manager and at the end of this season I’d like to see a change, doubt I’ll see it under this regime but we live in hope.
That’s all it is Dave, Hope!🤦♂️
Agreed DEREK, it’s the hope that kills! 😀
Dave,
I’ve said that in some posts in the past to.
It’s the hope that kills you. (Great minds think a like).
I know I could have set myself up for some comebacks here, but what the heck. I like living on the edge. 😉👍
not necessarily, we have to see how everything goes. For me, if we are fighting til the end for EPL (big if right now) and have a deep run in Champion’s League then the project should get another summer transfer.
If we continue with current form, I would be more onside with the assessment!
Arsenal is now a team for experimenting players versatility for reason.
4 LBs + Timber, Tomi & Kiwi
4 DMs,
2 non striking strikers (Soon to add Ethan)
Defend him as much as you can, it’s obvious the guy is confused what the next step should be
Tomi A,
More square pegs in round holes I fear. Dear oh dear.🤦♂️
The sooner the better. Otherwise the 20 years we’ve spent chasing mirages will continue. A manager with the Midas Touch is needed like yesterday.
Unfortunately YES!!!
He made three mistakes in the Summer window.
Bringing in Merino, even though he is left footed, he has no pace
Bringing in Calafiori, who has been injury prone for most of his career
and finally, bringing in Sterling, who is well over the hill.
I believe the team is weaker this season than the last three!!
These anti-manager articles are pretty tiresome.
Basically, some so-called “fans” will sack anyone who doesn’t win a “major trophy” (which they get to define – CS doesn’t count, top 4 and CL qualification doesn;t seem to count… prob not the league cup I imagine).
So probably they expect the CL or PL or the manager’s out. As I said: tiresome.
Neutral,
I for one would obviously like to see us win the league.
But if we won a trophy it would be a start, no matter what that trophy is.
Like it or not, Strikers are judged on goals, defenders are judged on their defending, Goalkeepers on keeping the ball out of the goal.
And managers are judged on winning trophy’s, not win rates or winning Community Shields.
Actual meaningful trophy’s.
Just another add on DEREK, supporters are judged by whether they stick by their club (not the manager) through thick and thin.
Not sure if managers should be judged solely on trophies either in this day and age.
Participation in the CL means so much financially to any club and, while fans love to see open top parades, owners are aware that, just to qualify means a £40,000,000 cheque winging it’s way into the coffers – money that would / should / could strengthen the squad.
Ken1945,
I take your last comment on board. 👍
So you think it’s possible to support a club but not it’s manager. When the club success will be determined by the coach success!!! Wow 😳😳
Expect ?
It’s been 21 years !