Mikel Arteta has enjoyed his honeymoon period but it cannot last forever
Mikel Arteta has a lot of good faith in the bank from the Arsenal fans but that will start to deplete if results are not converted into wins soon.
Arteta has been in charge now for five Premier League games and only a single win has been registered in that period and by any standards that is not good enough. There is some mitigation of course and that is why there has been very little criticism aimed at the Spaniard.
However, there comes a point where Arteta has to be held to account in the same manner that his predecessors have been and I believe that time is now.
Drawing at home to Sheffield United is simply unacceptable. The Blades are having a great season and team after team have come unstuck against them but come on, they are a promoted team with very mediocre players and regardless of how they have done against other teams, Arsenal should be beating them at the Emirates.
It is ok saying there has been improvement but if that improvement is not to a certain level then questions must be asked why.
Arsenal did well against Man Utd but the truth is that they are no better than Arsenal these days, it was not as impressive a win as some have made out, not in my opinion anyway.
The performances under Arteta have not been as good as what one would have hoped I have to say. Being thoroughly outplayed at home in the first half against a championship team (Leeds United) is poor by anyone’s standards, being the second-best team on the pitch against a promoted team at home is just as bad.
Draws against free-falling Bournemouth and Crystal Palace were far from convincing, this cannot carry on without there being an adverse reaction from the fans and rightfully so.
I want Arteta to succeed but I am now of the opinion that results need to get better and if they do not then the manager must be held to account.