Proof that Mikel Arteta certainly is the Real Deal

Arsenal have been as good as the best of the rest. by John Mayor

Having seen a lot of articles about Arsenal’s form so far this season, some of them positive and others negative, I thought I would do my own piece about how good Arsenal has been this so far.

An article on here at justarsenal.com stated how Arsenal has been the epl form team in the past ten games. Other posts tell us about how great Arteta has been this season, but these articles are not short of detractors who would have us know that we aren’t doing so great. Some would tell us how terrible a coach Arteta is.

This is not a post about how great Arteta is or how bad Arsenal has been. Neither am I playing devil’s advocate, however being an ardent Arsenal fan that takes a look at the EPL everyday, like I am sure many supporters do, and an astounding fact just jumped right at me from the table.

This is something I haven’t seen anyone post on this site, either in a published article or the comments sections. Actually, I have not heard any one of my mates, who are mostly Arsenal fans, talk about it and it’s simply mind blowing. It is a testament to far this club has come in the last few months and how great a job our young coach has done. I must tell you I am not an Arteta fan and not a critic either, rather I am mostly indifferent about him as sometimes I feel he hasn’t done quite enough, and other times I am totally impressed by him.

So here is it, since the first three games of the season which Arsenal lost, Arsenal as gathered forty-eight points over a 23 games period which is the same points as Liverpool within the same period, and just five points less than Liverpool which made us the second-best team in the league over a 22 games period.

Over the same period of time, we have conceded exactly the same number of goals as Liverpool did which is just two goals higher that of City.

During that same period only three clubs scored more goals than Arsenal.

MY OPINION.

Arsenal has improved greatly this season compared to past seasons, but unlike those past seasons, we hardly lose points to so called lower teams, some of which we call our bogey teams which are always stealing points from us.

Our away form has improved so much that we have one of the best away forms in the league over a ten games period.

Finally, Arteta achieved all these feats, so he is the real deal.

John Mayor

CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link

Are Arsenal worthy of a Top Four finish?

Tags Arteta

44 Comments

  1. Nicely written article but you have to include the first 3 games, we can’t cherry pick when to start taking stats from.

    The same way if someone just looked at our Jan stats and said that we are a terrible team and MA is a horrific manager, that would also be unfair right? When in reality we are having a good season and just had a dip in Jan.

    Arteta is certainly improving and has been great in the EPL. We’ll know next season if he’s the real deal once we are back in Europe, our incoming transfer + promoted players from academy and if he manages all our upcoming “2 years left” contracts properly.

    1. surely, @PJ-SA if they were actually different players during those games, which they largely were, then it actually makes some sense to consider the games played by Arteta’s chosen squad?

      1. In a way you are calling Arteta a cheque book coach and saying he can only be successful if he handpicks all the players that plays for him. How many of the players in Chelsea and Rmadrid are bought by Tuchel and Ancelloti.

        1. The players you mentioned at RM & CFC are world class and they have the skill and attitude to be with the top top clubs if not they would not be there in the first case. Mikel inherited a mess of unskilled or bloated egos or cry babies form the kindergarten school – and if you cannot admire the turn around in terms of attitude and passion on the pitch, I’m sorry my friend, you seem to watch a different Arsenal play.

    2. Good comment looking at it from all sides. Arteta has definitely been doing something right behind the scenes. Yet that doesn’t make me agree with some of his decisions which I consider atrocious and worthy of doing some time behind bars. Anyway, I’m backing him to end in the top four and I believe he’s very well able to achieve a top three finish. He’s done well so far and has proven to be a faster learner than many of us(me inclusive) anticipated, which makes him a better manger than we gave him credit for. He should still do that jail time though and take serious classes on both man and asset management

      1. I’m hopeful we can get top 4, I think the biggest thing will be injuries. If we can stay relatively injury fee I can see us getting 4th spot.

    3. That’s not cherry picking – it’s not unreasonable to say “since x date we’ve been really good” as long as that encompasses a reasonable period of time.

        1. That’s like saying the form guide is cherry picked because it only accounts for the last 5 games – but it often tells you something meaningful.

          I suppose it would depend on what one was trying to say, but i think the point that was made by the author – that we’ve been roughly as good as Liverpool (on paper) between these two dates, which is indicative that arteta has been doing a good job – is fair enough and not at all reliant on cherry picked data

    4. In my opinion…. I can say without doubt that there is no any other coach out there who can be available to coach Arsenal and better than Mikel arteta. Mikel is the real deal. He is the best for arsenal.
      Though some people are not impressed by our style of play. I can tell you an impressed by it. We play a slow but sure kind of a tactics. And I will tell you the advantages of that.
      1. We don’t waste energy on unnecessary situations. Eg. Why should a player run past 5 players then eventually loosing the ball. The player ends up putting his team to risk and wearing himself to something that yielded no results
      2. We do play passes all over the pitch especially in our half and that mostly confuses alot of teams because they don’t know when we will launch an attack. You can ask man city why they were scared of arsenal and also watch how we demolished Watford.
      3. Finally, the style is yielding results. We were in the relegation zone earlier in the season with negative goal. Look at where we are now 🤗.. who would have predicted that. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to tell that Mikel’s style is working wonders. And not forgetting that all this is done by the youngest squad in epl coached by one of the youngest coach.. if you are not impressed by that….. Nothing will ever impress you

      1. That’s just your opinion.. Many managers out there are better than Arteta and Any manager can be available..

  2. to build a team…one need time

    Arteta is just doing the basics

    building a core of young talented players

    playing them together along with some experience heads

    Thats what Wenger has been doing but the top players keep getting sold

    1. Right now, Arsenal is in no mood or position to sell any of our top players. I can guarantee you that

  3. I’m surprised that only three teams have scored more goals than Arsenal since our 0-3 start.

    The lack of consistency is often raised but here are two reasons why I think it’s a bit unfounded. First, three consecutive losses at the beginning of the season is always going to stand out more than if a 3 game losing streak is buried in the middle of a season. And second, the miserable form early in 2022 was magnified by the fact thay we played so few games – it was ages between wins.

    Overall I think our consistency has been pretty good since the middle of last year. There are no trophies for that though so here’s hoping it continues for the last 13 games.

  4. All these accolades for Arteta is welcomed but the reality is that it would be null and void if we don’t make Top6. This is Arteta’s third season with Arsenal he would only be perfectly rated at the end of the season. The coach himself knows it doesn’t take much for Arsenal fans to turn against him if the league position doesn’t favour us season end. Arteta should continue his good work with the players we’ll see where we are seaon end.

  5. Good to see a number of new article writers on here after PATS ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN. Ads plainly work! Congrats PAT!

  6. – Similar to Klopp, he likes to bark at the players constantly. Unlike the older managers who prefer to sit in the dugout, he gives direct instructions for almost ninety minutes at each game

    – Arsenal usually lost against the big teams above them, but they mostly won against smaller team under his guidance. This is similar to Wenger’s later years

    – Wenger’s team frequently got conceded because of the failed offside traps and relied too much on through balls in his later years. Arteta’s team are much better in implementing the offside traps and produce more crosses

    – He is ruthless to the ones who can’t do high press effectively

  7. what a fabulously unbias article??? can’t we just wait until we actually accomplish something before we anoint a manager who’s been given an incredibly long leash and the kind of financial backing we’ve never seen at this club since arriving at the Emirates…until then I will remain an “indifferent” observer

      1. how ironic considering how much time you’ve surely spent within a waiting room

      2. Thanks Admin Pat for publishing my article.However I noticed a number errors and typos.For this , I apologise to justarsenal.com readers.

        A quick correction to an error on paragraph 5 . Arsenal has gathered the same points as Liverpool over a 22 game period and just 5 points lesser than City over the same period, which makes us 2nd on the league table.

    1. Strange that Jon as only 5 weeks ago a poll showed that just over 50 % on here as an example was behind Arteta .
      Unless they have taken the Jon fox jump on bandwagon approach I’m struggling to see how you’re comment as has much substance as you seem to think

      1. Oh and thanks again for calling me out as it gives me leverage to once again make you look like a clown .
        (Lol)

  8. MA is a manager in waiting and still learning his trade.
    i am big fan of MA as a coach but as a manager i am waiting.
    potentially we have a person who i feel could be good for us in the long run but we need to be patient and expect a few hiccups along the way.
    the team is still growing and the manager is still learning his trade but i personally feel we are on the right track.

  9. Had we been higher up the table, even heading for winning the league, then I might say he’s the real deal.
    Otherwise, I’ll wait till the dust settles.
    So far, so good though…IJS

  10. That’s right we can’t trust him yet since we are yet to se how he fares fo r the remainder of the season cos few games winless run might see us out of europe entirely,the jury is still out even till at least mid next season.

  11. We are doing well playing in just one competition. When we had multiple competitions, we did not fare so well. FA Cup and PL, when we were in Europa, he hasn’t shown how to rotate and manage the team in multiple competitions yet.

    Next year will really show how he has progressed as a manager, so let’s wait to see a bit more.

  12. Some of us forget a few basic facts. First, Arteta is a young manager who is still learning his trade. Secondly, Arsenal has indeed turned a corner as evidenced by facts on the ground. Furthermore, Arsenal is playing with determination and focus. This is the reason why we are no longer conceding easy goals and being bullied by other teams.
    All the above observations point to one thing: that Arteta is doing a good job. Even if we don’t finish in the top four this season I will still say that Arteta is doing a good job. In this regard I wish to take exception to Piers Morgan who wants us to go for Thomas Tuchel. Some managers like Tuchel are nomads. They serve at a club for a limited period and then move on. That is not the kind of manager Arsenal needs. We are stable club which needs a stable manager. We should continue to trust Arteta to move us to the next level because he has shown he can do it.

    1. Managers like Tuchel serve at a club and win things though David that’s what big clubs do ,long gone are the days where a big PL club will employ a manager and not expect instant results ,maybe apart from Liverpool and Klopp but the foundations were already set in motion for him .
      Regarding Arteta we could be looking at another long stint as an Arsenal
      Manager with no end product except from scrapping by and just doing enough ,which for me we already had that with Wenger for the last decade ,is it a owner thing ? Probably because that’s what this club as become ,settling for second best ,if the club was serious about winning then we would go down the same road as the Liverpools and Man City’s .
      Where as we once was a top 4 club we have now turned into a top 6 club .
      I suppose it depends on what fans think is the right way to get success ,but I’m most certain will will be waiting a whole lot longer going to the route we have taken .

        1. Also david the history books remember the winners
          Not a club you think have done it the right way

    2. Oh my oh my, for the love of the game you just open my heart with your dagger words.
      Some of us forget a few basic facts. First, Arteta is a young manager who is still learning his trade. Secondly, Arsenal has indeed turned a corner as evidenced by facts on the ground. Furthermore, Arsenal is playing with determination and focus. This is the reason why we are no longer conceding easy goals and being bullied by other teams.
      All the above observations point to one thing: that Arteta is doing a good job. Even if we don’t finish in the top four this season I will still say that Arteta is doing a good job. In this regard I wish to take exception to Piers Morgan who wants us to go for Thomas Tuchel. Some managers like Tuchel are nomads. They serve at a club for a limited period and then move on. That is not the kind of manager Arsenal needs. We are stable club which needs a stable manager. We should continue to trust Arteta to move us to the next level because he has shown he can do it.

  13. I agree with almost every comment here. Arteta is proving he’s an excellent coach a has become a very good tactician. As a manager the jury is out. We aren’t playing amazing football but the setup, approach and application mean we have become a very effective team. We are beating the teams we should beat and scoring some great goals, but we are a young and inexperienced group. We will develop and only time will tell what our ceiling is.

  14. I really don’t want to be in a position to say I told you so, when the inevitable happens, but isn’t it too early for even the Artetafanclub to be calling for a victory parade celebrating fourth place. Looking at the real picture, the football is looking a little better , with some well taken half chances,but we just made it past a wounded Watford who also missed a few opportunities to score. At the same time Xhaka was ordinary, Lacazette no thank you, and Cedric is just putty filler. The real test will be when Manure get there act together Conte sifts the dregs from the Spuds and a cashed up Newcastle with Eddie Howe climb up the table. Will Arsenal continue to stand still?

  15. I don’t believe that clubs should become experimental fields for different managers. Clubs like Barcelona developed young managers like Pep Guardiola into world beaters. Who knew Alex Ferguson before his Man U career? Take the case of Man U today. How many managers have they had since Ferguson’s departure? What success have they achieved? Look at Everton. They have moved from bad to worse even though they have employed some well known managers. It is not just individuals who change a club but a host of other factors such as players, system in place, the fan base etc. It is not enough to change one individual and imagine all will work out.
    In the case of Arteta, this is his first managerial career. It is therefore expected that he will make some honest mistakes but going by what we have seen so far I believe he will be a good manager. We should, therefore, give him chance to do the job.

  16. Pat you certainly knows how to stir things up article written like this will always brings out the polarizing fans.
    It certainly looking like he could be the real deal if things continue on the same trajectory, the only blemish have seen so far is the mismanage of Saliba, but his anticipation is that of a very senior manager am honestly liking what am seeing

    1. I didn’t write it mate, it clearly credits the author as John Mayor. As you should know, every Arsenal fan’s opinion is valid, even if you disagree…

  17. A lot depends on what people perceive as the “real deal”. By the ordinary meaning there should be little doubt.
    Another question is whether he could be on his way to being one the great managers. If Arsenal qualify for the the CL it would be a real statement as it would probably put him amongst the top 10 in Europe.
    Obviously, there is still a long way to go this season.

  18. Hi,
    Just a thought, AFC is on 48 points from 25 games, having lost the 1st three, due to issues with COVID, and the loss against Liverpool and Mam. City. I for one have supported MA from the get go, at the seasons opener i postulated that Arteta already had a complete team, with the six summer transfers, I realized the promise that the team had to develop some type of synergy, of which I believed would happen next season, it even flashes on my minds eye that wining the League was a possibility. ,

    Ten games left, 30 points, one win at a time, unbeaten in Ten, Eighty points maximum.

    It could be our year, if we believe. Proud of this team, proud of this manager, who is a fellow countryman. Proud of Edu Gaspar, and Josh… my plea to my beloved AF is that we back them, somehow something special is emerging.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors