Mikel Arteta was hired as the manager of Arsenal last year after the team had made a poor start to the season under Unai Emery.
The Spaniard came into an Arsenal side that was in disarray and in an environment that had gotten so toxic that the club fans had turned against their players.
The Spaniard had his work cut out in terms of reuniting the fans with the players as well as making the team competitive again.
Arteta came prepared even though it was his first senior managerial position and the former midfielder has made a big impact at the club.
He has recently opened up on the atmosphere that greeted him at the club and the sort of rebuild he needed to do.
“You cannot build something new [quickly], when something has been damaged and hurt badly, that you can see a big split between even our own fans and the team,” Arteta said to the Arsenal website.
“You have to rebuild that [bond]. In order to do that you have to build some foundations, and afterwards start a process. You have to prioritise that process at the start, and where you are going to get to.
“To do that you need some pieces that have to fill in there, and you have to start to create a puzzle and try to manage it because there will be bad moments and you don’t want to break it.
“All the time you have to be very alert because it takes very little to break what you are building.”
It seems to me that Arteta is asking for patience.. something that is all too frequently in short supply.
It was pretty plain to Everyman/woman and their dog that the club was in a very difficult place
Spot on Sue P. Trouble is some fans do not come under the heading of Everyperson and their dog, though they would if they were less impatient and hasty!
Think it’s only fair to ask for patience, and he has only been here around a year now. Improvement and progress is what fans want to see, and it’s been a mixed bag so far.
That being said, a year is enough time to display a style of play (which he hasn’t), and it is becoming a cause for concern; for me at least. A second cause is the negative football we play; it if leads to results that’s one thing, but it has not with a 4W and 4L record.
I applaud Arteta for his 2 early trophies, and some key wins against the top 6. However we still lack consistency. We have taken a major step backwards, and going from 10 wins in 14 games playing a 4-2-3-1 to 4W 4L in this 3-4-3 hybrid needs to be addressed.
Arteta does need some patience, but not an unlimited amount and criticism is valid IMHO, but calls for his dismissal are premature at this point.
He needs to show real progress by this Summer; Wenger had 2 years and couldn’t do it, Emery had 1 1/2 years and couldn’t do it, Arteta should get the same treatment.
Don’t understand the AW has two years reference at all. Surely 1996- 2018 is 22 years, not 2?
I struggled with that but my guess is the last two years??
I guess so but he did not say WHY only the last two years. Unless, which I have to presume, he saw no fault in AW at all til 2016. IF so, I find that an incredible viewpoint!