With the most likely outcome of having Mikel Arteta leading Arsenal soon, we should take the time to look at the positives of having him instead of another pair of “safe hands”. Well lovely readers of this fair site, let’s dive straight into it.
With so many problems around, there is one thing people related to Arsenal all agree upon, and that is we need change. A dramatic one too. We tried a “proven” manager in Unai Emery and where did that leave us? Football is a game of confidence. Last season we were looking primed for the top 4, yet we tanked it. This season we started with 2 wins in a row (even though it’s hard to remember this at times like these), but why did we fall apart again?
Truth is, we never really had a playing style under Emery. His 22 unbeaten run was based off of energetic subs, and comebacks, rather than dominating the opposition. In Mikel Arteta we get a person who’s worked with the best in Pep G. He should be coming in with a vision of how we want to play football. He is extremely highly regarded in terms of improving players and we need a lot of that.
A lot of people fear we’d lose Aubameyang and Lacazette. We had them available to play against City and so what? Only Martinelli looked like a player with the necessary desire to wear the shirt. If the players really don’t want Arteta, well they should be moved on. Here’s my list of players, that should be moved on:
* Ozil – more of a problem than anything else
* Mustafi – enough said
* Luiz – past it
* Aubameyang – if he doesn’t sign a new deal
* Sokratis – not good enough
* Xhaka – not suited for our style of football
One thing Arteta oozes and Arsenal have been missing is class. I saw a video of his interview after his last game for Arsenal
Tell me you weren’t moved by this? I’m in football to enjoy the thrill and Arsenal have become a place full of apathy.
Mikel Arteta has the unknown factor. Nobody knows what he will be like. As much as I love what Freddie did as a player, he was assistant to Emery and his short managerial tenure looked exactly like what Emery left. We desperately need a new vision to come in from outside. Promoting from inside the rotten situation we are in will just not work.
What I expect from Arteta coming in, is a vision. I want a solid plan for the future, because there is no way anyone can come to our pigsty and suddenly transform us into a winning machine. We need to get rid of the overpaid primadonnas at the club and set a structure dedicated to building a playing style and getting the players that would fit it.
We tried signing expensive players, which we struggle to put them in the same team, yet our defence is absolute garbage. This is the result of impulsive actions hoping to temporarily paper over the cracks. We now need a solid plan on how to rework ourselves back to competing. We should accept where we are, and work not to get a few wins and suddenly think everything is ok, because short sightseeing is what we’ve been doing for like 10 years and this is the result of all that.
Finally, Mikel Arteta fits the young mould and we should look at people like Ten Hag and Julian Nagelsmann who have achieved wonders coming from being relatively unknown. Same with Klopp back in the day and Tuchel after him. The small difference is they all had some managerial experience before. Not a lot, but still better than the nothing sitting on Arteta’s name. The only game he managed in Pep’s absence was a 2:1 defeat to Lyon in the champions league.
I think the board should’ve acted more quickly if they wanted him and we cannot let them off the hook for that, but we should support Mikel. If he comes in, we must unite with him and give him a chance. This season is a shipwreck and we all should very well know it. if we start seeing desire, passion and fight from the team, everyone will support him no doubt. Then the style, class and identity we used to have need to be restored.
It’s a huge ask, but Mikel could be just the person we need. I know it’s difficult, but if he arrives here I’ll be his supporter as negativity will no longer take us anywhere. Time will tell, but if you are coming home Mikel, we’ll be there for you!
Konstantin