As Arsenal look set to finish the season on a high note, there are already rumours beginning to emerge about Arsene Wenger’s summer transfer targets and about the future of a few Arsenal stars. There has been plenty of speculation recently about the situation of Mikel Arteta, with David Moyes said to be keen to take him back to Spain with Real Sociedad.
Moyes, who worked with Arteta for a number of years during their spell at Everton, is known to be good friends with the Arsenal skipper, and it is understood that it was Arteta who convinced the former Manchester United boss to take the job at La Real, having had a one year spell at the club himself. Now, the reports from the Star claim that the former Everton duo are set to reunite at the Anoeta stadium. Looking at Arteta’s current situation, the report does seem to have a fair amount of credibility.
In addition to the fact that David Moyes is a well-known admirer of Arteta, the first-team situation of the Spanish midfielder is also a point to consider. With the emergence of Francis Coquelin as Arsenal’s first-choice defensive midfielder and with the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and even Santi Cazorla, who has grown accustomed to playing a deeper role, fighting for a place alongside the young Frenchman, the Gunners captain will certainly find it difficult to get into the first-team.
At 32 years of age and with first-team opportunities looking like they will be hard to come by, I really think Mikel will consider his future at the end of the season. Despite recently being offered a one-year extension, I believe his time at the Emirates is coming to an end. To be brutally honest, he simply does not have the legs anymore. When we see Coquelin put in a shift in defensive midfield, it is really evident to see what Arsenal had been lacking when Arteta was deployed there.
Who thinks Wenger will play him if he did stay?
Anurag
I would say NO!!
We always have a large no of injuries… And since when did we have a player retire at the club???
He is utterly important for us..In small games to retain possession and keep the ball moving constantly.. And he has a calm head..So for me We shouldn’t sell Arteta…
He is old and injury prone. I hope he leaves..
If he’s so important why have we played so much better with him out of the lineup? Even at his best, Arteta was never good enough to be a starter at Arsenal and assumed that role only by default. He’s now a shadow of his former self with no legs.
We need another CDM (1 is not enough) but we need someone who is young, physical and athletic. Both Arteta and Flamini need to go. Neither is good enough for a team with title ambitions.
“Even at his best, Arteta was never good enough to be a starter at Arsenal” – Spoken like an absolute muppet. Arteta has been a great player for Arsenal and only age has seen his influence wane.
Coquelin is a good tackler/interceptor and in 12 league games his stats are 3.6 tackles 3.1 interceptions per 90mins. But in his last 2 full seasons consisting of 27 and 34 games Arteta produced 3.4 tackles 2 interceptions, and 3.2 tackles 2.9 interceptions respectively per 90 mins – while also being a country mile better in our possession and passing game than Coquelin will ever be. Not good enough? You’re analysis isn’t good enough.
I’ve said it since Coquelin played his first game this year for us, he will be replaced in the lineup come the summer and that person (likely schneiderlin) will show you what a proper DM is really about. Coquelin can tackle and run, but that’s it – he’s replacing flamini as a squad player (albeit a much better one). The value of Arteta will be revealed when HIS successor find his way into this team next season.
Meh, I think you are underrating Coquelin a bit. I agree that Le Coq has been overrated thanks to the streak the team is on, but I also think Arteta was never all that good as a DM. The real difference in the two comes away from the in man marking, covering for fullbacks and CBs that are out of position as well as the general tracking back of Le Coq (Arteta’s lack of pace was a major issue here).
Arteta was also quite a bit better at keeping possession than people gave him credit for. All the complaining about Arteta constantly passing the ball back to the defenders: why no complaints when Coquelin does it? Arteta used his skill and decent strength to keep the ball just as well, and when he passed forward it was more accurate as well.
I am fine if Arteta wants to leave, but we desperately need another DM whether he stays or not. Arteta can back up the position, as well as several others. He can even rotate and play very well. But he shouldn’t be starting there, and the line for his natural position (B2B attacking mid) is quite long as it is most likely Ramsey’s as long as he is playing decently.
got to disagree somewhat, coquelin’s passing may not be as safe as arteta’s but it allows us to move up the pitch faster than arteta or flamini’s passing. Btw did you not see that outside of the foot pass to ramsey yesterday? maybe not necessary but certainly delightful haha
Have to agree with you CC but perhaps not at the expense of denigrating FC. Most top teams in Europe have “old” (32 – really?) but experienced calm pros in their squad ranks. Arteta never had “legs” but is class through and through. Often made the brunt of the criticism when we got turned over but was nearly always involved in our better performances of the past 3 years. Arteta as a squad player on a rolling contract, along with TR7, makes sense to me on so many levels – hope they both retire here. Flamini is the one that should move on not Arteta imo.
He turns 33 in 4 days. I have nothing against him.
BUT, by all means, he should be our 3rd choice for midfield. Is that okay for Arteta? No? Then we should let him go. Surely he still wants to play first team football and if Arsenal gets few mils for that deal then its a win-win situation.
We still need a CM/CDM type of player to rotate COQ with (I mean the guy’s busted his nose like 3 games in a row) and Flamini is nothing short of a liability. I won’t even mention Diaby (oops, I just did).
Arteta needs to be replaced and so does Flamini as far as I’m concerned. Bielik still needs a lot of developing so in the meantime we should invest in a player like Schneiderlin or Bender. Coquelin has been great but I still feel like we seriously lack physicality. Getting a beast of a CDM would make a huge difference to this squad. We no longer play the flowing game for 90 minutes. I HATE to say it but we play like Chelsea at times. Defending and getting goals of the counter-attack. All the more reason to have an extra enforcer in the midfield.
the only thing broken is coquelin,s nose!!i dont ,see why buying a new dm has to mean the end for arteta because he was being played out of position wait and see when he comes he will be used in a different way by arsene!!
It’s not usual to see well thought out comments on here. I agree with you 100%. What many forget is that apart from on-field, Arteta is a veteran in the PL. He has been in England all his life – at least for the last 10yrs. There are not many players around these days who are playing at the top level and who know the rough and tumble of the domestic league like Arteta.
What I like about him is his calmness and assurance on the ball. I’m sure Wenger will not let him go at least for another year, because to have a good squad, you need all sort of ingredients, different types of players. Arteta is a cool-head. One player that I won’t mind seeing the back of is Flamini. Diaby will also leave the payroll so there will be some balancing to do. Schneiderlin is 70% through the door from whispers.
We have an abundance of wingers and wing forwards but a central midfielder like Arteta is really important to have balance and experience in your squad. There’s nothing wrong in having Coquelin, Arteta and Schneiderlin as our defensive midfielders. We turned Arteta into a DM he is a utility player and can be a very important squad player. I think at this stage of his career, he’d rather finish at the top, playing/preparing for CL football (even if he is not in the line-up) than playing at Sociedad. Maybe that can happen in 2017 but I cannot see Arteta leaving Arsenal at least for another season and I can see why that would be. This team is starting to get to know each other. It’s time to harness as much advantage we can from an experienced player like him. Next season, getting in the first 11 will be tougher. If you sell Arteta are you hoping to keep Flamini? Look how poor he was coming in at Newcastle? Despite having played very little in the last 4 games. Flamini is def past it. He’s the one that needs to go. Not Mikel.