Mikel Arteta sack: ‘Serious’ update on Arsenal boss
Mikel Arteta is now rightly under scrutiny as Arsenal manager as the club look to end their wait for a trophy, a former Premier League player has said.
Troy Deeney has suggested that the Gunners will have to consider the future of the Spaniard at the end of this season if they do not win a trophy this season, and if they are “serious” about changing that.
Arteta took charge at the Emirates Stadium back in the summer of 2019, returning to the club he represented as a player to take on his first managerial role.
The Spaniard guided Arsenal to the FA Cup title during his first season in charge, but has so far been unable to build on that.
‘Mikel Arteta to face Arsenal questions if trophy wait continues’ – Troy Deeney
After winning that FA Cup during his first season with the Gunners, Arteta has so far failed to deliver any more trophies for the club despite challenging for league titles.
This season, his side are second in the current Premier League table, seven points behind league leaders Liverpool, and have made it through to the last 16 of the Champions League.
They have however, been knocked out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup already, reducing their chances of a trophy.
Arsenal have also been rocked by a season-ending injury to Kai Havertz this week, leaving them worryingly low on attacking options.
That has led to some claims that Arteta will be able to hide even if Arsenal do not win a trophy this season.
Deeney however does not believe that will be the case, even indicating that pressure is even starting to build on the 42-year-old.
When asked on talkSPORT if Arteta should be under pressure if Arsenal do not win a trophy this season, the ex-striker said: “I think there’s already grumblings within the Arsenal fanbase… I’ve worked at Arsenal what eight times this season, when it’s good: ‘we’re going to win the league it’s great’.
“When they lose: ‘Oh he ain’t got a clue what he’s doing, the same subs the same rotation’. I just think it’s a genuinely interesting question. I have no care either way if he’s in his job or not.
“I don’t know Mikel Arteta, I don’t wake up thinking about him in the morning personally. But if it’s a case of they are serious about winning then he has to be on the clock.
“Because he set the precedent of five years remember. So if you put the framework at that Man City have been great over the other couple of years, nobody’s seen Liverpool coming in and winning it, and you’ve now fallen even further behind, I think then the question is fairly allowed to be asked.”
Mikel Arteta needs an Arsenal trophy quickly
Football Insider Verdict
Of course, the attacking injury problems are not going to be helping Arteta as he looks to secure silverware this season.
The failure to sign a striker in January, despite Arsenal making a late bid for Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa, could prove costly for him.
While it has made his cause harder, those in charge at the club may want to take the scrutiny off themselves for not putting a fully capable squad in place at the Emirates.
In such eventualities it is often the manager who becomes the fall guy, so Arteta can ill-afford to give the board any excuses to make such a change.
But with Arsenal facing a big gap to Liverpool in the Premier League and plenty of competition in the Champions League, it is not going to be easy for him to do that.
Even so, there have been plenty of times in the past where he has missed opportunities to take silverware, and not many managers would have got as much time as he has to put that right.
With that in mind if he is under pressure come the summer, Arteta will have to take some responsibility for that himself.