‘Mikel Arteta to leave Arsenal next year without Premier League or Champions League’
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been tipped to “walk” at the Emirates Stadium next year if his side is unable to finally win a top trophy.
The Gunners ended the last Premier League season in second place, 10 points behind eventual winners Liverpool, who won the title with four games remaining in April.
They have been runners-up in the top-flight in the last three seasons, behind Manchester City on two occasions and now the Reds.
Mikel Arteta’s one major trophy as boss of the Emirates Stadium outfit came back in 2020, as the Gunners won the Covid-19-era FA Cup against Chelsea, but he has struggled to take his side to glory in the years that have followed.
Arsenal are set to be busy in the summer transfer window, with Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres believed to be a main Gunners target, while Football Insider have recently revealed that they are readying a move for Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White at the Emirates.
John Obi Mikel issues bullish Mikel Arteta, Arsenal prediction
According to a recent update from The Athletic, any pressure on Arteta is external, either from the media or himself, and he is under no risk of losing his job this summer.
That could change if the Gunners are able to bring in some high-profile captures this summer, though, as trophy success will surely need to follow for the Spaniard be trusted at the helm in North London.
Speaking live on talkSPORT (3 June), ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel offered his views on whether Arteta should remain at the club if they are again unable to win a major title next season.
“Is [Arteta] the guy to take them to the next level? I think he has built a really, really good team there.
“They’re solid, they’re playing well, the defence is good, the midfield is good. I think he has built a solid team, but is he the guy to take them to the next level?
“The next level is winning the Premier League and winning the Champions League – sometimes I do think a fresh voice is needed. Now he has been there for five or six years, I give him one more year.
“Give him next season, [but] if he doesn’t do it, I think for his sake it is better to just walk. Then he is not the guy to be able to do it. Get someone new, get someone fresh.”
Arteta needs a big summer window to aid his Arsenal chances
Arsenal have certainly not been shy of spending big in recent transfer windows as they aim to win the Premier League or the Champions League, but there was no real marquee signing last summer after Declan Rice’s 2023 arrival for a club record £105million [Sky Sports].
Instead, smaller fees were spent on the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and David Raya, and so the Gunners may well look to spend big on a single player in the coming months to bolster Arteta’s ranks.
The striker position is one that needs particular attention, with Swedish international Gyokeres and RB Leipzig frontman Benjamin Sesko both linked, but Football Insider have recently revealed that Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta are at odds over which to sign this summer.
Newcastle United hotshot Alexander Isak has also been a reported target, but BBC Sport’s Sami Mokbel reported on 2 June that a transfer for the Magpies man will not be happening anytime soon.
It seems clear that Arsenal have signings in the pipeline, but they will need more than either Sesko or Gyokeres this summer if they are to compete for the Premier League and the Champions League next season.
Arteta could well find himself out of a job next year if his side are unable to pick up either of those trophies, but a smaller triumph like the FA Cup or EFL Cup would surely also aid his cause to staying on for another term.