‘Mikel Arteta causes disbelief over major Arsenal failure as sack questions loom’
Mikel Arteta has been slammed for repeatedly not listening to the demands of Arsenal fans over one key aspect of his squad.
Jermaine Jenas is stunned by the fact that the Spaniard has still not brought a new centre-forward to the club, which has proved costly.
The Gunners have not won a trophy since the FA Cup in 2020, during what was Arteta‘s first season in charge at the Emirates, and Their only hope of changing that this year is the Champions League.
But Arsenal will have to overturn a 1-0 deficit to PSG in the second leg of their Champions League semi final on Wednesday (7 May) to do so.
Mikel Arteta under fire over transfer business
A major problem for the Gunners this season has been the lack of a regular source of goals from a natural centre-foward.
Arsenal saw a late January bid for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins rejected, which has left them short on options in attack.
That has also been mad worse by injuries to a number of key attacking figures, with the likes of Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli missing long periods of the season.
Even amid that, there has been some suggestions that Arteta should be sacked as Arsenal manager if he does not at least get them to the Champions League final.
| Mikel Arteta as Arsenal manager | Total (Transfermarkt) |
| Matches | 285 |
| Won | 170 |
| Drawn | 49 |
| Lost | 66 |
Speaking on talkSPORT, Jenas suggested the Spaniard has enough credit in the bank to remain at the Emirates for a while yet, although he is stunned by the lack of movement on signing a striker.
After being asked how far into the Arteta journey at Arsenal things are, the former England international said: “His biggest issue obviously is the fact that their fans know exactly what they need, and [he] just seems to have this stubbornness to not go and do it.
“And even from somebody who has got no interest in Arsenal Football Club, it amazes me that he doesn’t seem to want to address the problem of the striker by going and getting almost like any striker really.
“Just to kind of shut people up to say that ‘I’ve tried that’. And I know people might say well he tried Gabriel Jesus or whatever. I still wouldn’t class Gabriel Jesus as a number nine who’s going to go and get you ten, eleven goals. I think that’s something obviously he has to address.”
Arsenal have clear summer transfer priority
Football Insider Verdict
Dropping points from a winning position has been a major issue for Arsenal this season and it makes clear exactly where they need to strengthen in the summer.
The Gunners have simply let too many 1-0 leads slip away to draws or even defeats to remain close to Liverpool in the title race.
Had they been able to bring in a striker in the summer or January to find the net more consistently, those leads in games would have been bigger, and the number of points dropped reduced.
That would have kept them closer to Liverpool in the title race and so signing a striker for next season is surely a must if they are going to have a chance of ending their title drought next season.
Right now, it feels as though the leeway Arteta will be given through injuries at Arsenal and their lack of striker signings means he will be in a job next season.
But given a club of this size needs and wants to win trophies, such a situation cannot go on forever, and sooner rather than later he is likely to come under genuine pressure.