‘Arteta out’ will not solve Arsenal’s problems by Dan Smith
This isn’t me reacting badly after a loss. Any regular readers will know I don’t represent part of our fan base who demand a manager gets sacked after a couple of defeats. I’m not screaming ‘Arteta out’ because, really, he should have never been recruited in the first place.
Just like it was painfully obvious that Unai Emery wasn’t good enough.
Back in December I wrote that Arteta was simply the cheap option; another example of the club putting value ahead of ambition. I was asked ‘How did I know that?’ Was I a mind reader? How did I know he wasn’t the number one choice?
At the time, I didn’t think these comments were clever. I thought, ‘don’t cry in a few months when we fall even further behind where we used to be.’ I remember thinking, it must be music to Stan Kroenke’s ears. His customers conned, willing to wait another couple of years for Arteta to implement his ideas, put his own squad together, etc.
His favourite opinion must be the notion that being 9th remains the fault of the old regime. So not just are now some willing to wait, but they still blame everyone else but him. Meanwhile he’s making a record amount off Adidas for shirt sales.
You see I don’t sympathise with all Gooners. The likes of AFTV, who drove Arsene Wenger away, the last man who truly loved us and cared. This is what they wanted. They were adamant everything would be so wonderful once we pushed away the greatest manager in our history. Some are scared to say it because it will be admitting they are wrong, so I will do it for them…
We have gone backwards… Nothing has got better; it’s got worse. We are bleeding, bleeding badly, and it will get worse before it gets better.
I don’t feel I’m turning on one of my own, because from day one I saw through the lie, I understood how he got the job.
At the time, Ancelotti and Allegri were out of work (one still is) but they would have spent 2 minutes talking to the Kroenke family and would have not have been interested. Luis Enrique has confirmed this before.
Arsenal should be an attractive post for every coach. The stadium, the academy, the history, etc. Yet the very best don’t need to take work for the sake of it. They are winners who want to add to their CV. They will want to know ‘do they have a realistic chance of winning titles.’
The questions they would ask are like…
‘Tell me the world class defender you plan to sign?’
‘What are you doing to convince Auba to stay?’
‘Who will you buy to show the squad that this is where you want to be?’
‘How do you expect to win things if the Manchester clubs, Chelsea and even Everton will spend more?’
So, in other words, you’re only going to attract someone that is so grateful to have such a high-profile job that they will tolerate the lack of funds, selling our best players, etc.
Some will point out that Chelsea and Man United have gone down the route of bringing back ex-players. Indeed Barcelona and Real Madrid often go down the route of hiring ‘one of their own’. Yet the likes of Pep Guardiola, Zidane and Simeone in their first jobs were given every chance to succeed and were backed in the transfer market (we are now seeing that at Stamford Bridge).
It’s not Arteta’s fault. Of course, he’s going to back himself. For him, the reward is worth the risk. His worst-case scenario is that most will realise how badly the club is run and he just goes back and works with Pep.
He will always be undermined by loans like Mari and Cedric. It was said Southampton were shocked a club our size would want the right back. Do you really think our recruitment team thinks they are the answer or is it simply they are cheap? Would Chelsea sign Cedric?
I’m not saying ‘sack Arteta’ because all the Kroenke family will do is just bring in another cheap option, and the same thing will keep happening. I’m asking gooners to see it. See that everything that is wrong comes back to the years of zero ambition from Silent Stan. If he cared, he would have ripped everything up and started again.
That won’t happen. So, we bleed until he leaves.
Let’s hope by the time that happens it’s not too late for Arsenal to bounce back.
Dan Smith