Arsenal’s continued struggle: Is Arteta still the man for the job?
Arsenal’s under fire boss, Mikel Arteta have become subject to intense criticism following his sides run of poor form. The Gunners have won just once in their last 6 games with the only victory being a 2-0 win over Brighton at the Emirates stadium.
The North London side currently sit 4th on the EPL table after staying on top for months until their poor run of form started late November. The Gunners lost just 6 games for the whole of last season while finishing 2nd but have lost 4 matches already this ongoing season having 16 matches left to play. Arteta’s team last season were top of the league after 18 matches, winning 15, drawing 2 while losing just one. Compared to this season, they have won 12, drawn 4 and lost 4 of 20 matches.
Arsenal’s boss have been criticized by fans as being “Rigid, inexperienced and favour’s certain players. Mikel had 45 minutes to make substitutions and win the game but the novice waited until conceding in the 80th minute for his first substitution, as if that’s not enough he kept Trossard and Smith-Rowe on the bench until the 87th minute even when Saka and Havertz were having a bad game.” A fan wrote on X following their side’s heartwrenching 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup. Arsenal have now exited the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, their hope of winning a trophy this season being the Premier league and power tussle Champions league where they face Portuguese side, FC Porto next month.
As regards Arteta’s rigidity, it would be remembered that he fell out with Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette and Xhaka while manging Arsenal. Many have attributed Arsenal’s struggles to injuries to powerhouse Partey, new signing Timber, full back Tomiyasu and inconsistent frontman Gabriel Jesus whom young striker Eddie Nketiah still hasn’t been able to depose from the squad.
Clearly, the Gunners have underperformed this season and would most likely finish worse off last season if results fail to improve and Arteta would need fresh ideas to turn the tide around at the Emirates should he still be interested in keeping his job.
Although most teams experience setbacks at some point during the season, the most successful teams only experience one dip at most before rebounding. Dips are complicated situations. This could be achieved in part by having a strong roster that allows for the replacement of any player who appears to be slightly out of form or by making frequent adjustments to prevent a sudden decline in performance from the entire team.
The club’s psychologist and his or her staff play a significant part in this as well. Indeed, reports about Alex Ferguson’s treatment of his players in one-on-one interviews continue to surface today, as though his conduct serves as a template for managers everywhere. It is a model, and it is evident that it can benefit some managers and players, but not all of them, and it can seriously harm a player’s psychological health. There are alternative methods out there too.
This issue cannot be resolved by simply adding a new player or players. Though the solution is quite simple, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal need to avoid experiencing these kinds of repeated setbacks. The likely solution is that Arteta needs to find a way to find a way to bring his team together and approach the season differently because the current group dynamic is not working. Either a new sociologist is needed, or they should pay closer attention to the one they already have.
See also: Arsenal, Liverpool, other EPL Christmas day table toppers that didn’t win the league
