In this piece, News Manager, Ufuoma Egbamuno explains why Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta should be fired if the Gunners fail to win a trophy at the end of this season.
It has been a tough last three weeks or one month being an Arsenal fan.
From looking like the next best thing to not just challenge for the Premier League shield but win it after a 20 year wait, the Gunners are a defeat away to Chelsea this weekend from being all but out of it.
Incredible, yeah?
But that is the significance of Sunday’s Battle at the Bridge!
Just about a month ago, Arsenal were a few seconds away from beating Champions, Manchester City at the Etihad for the first time since 2015.
Instead, City celebrated a point and Mikel Arteta’s team dropped two.
Since then, it’s been a downward spiral (apologies to Porto’s president, Andre Villas Boas).
In hindsight, the wins over Leicester and Southampton immediately after the City game served as warning. You could even add the second half performance against PSG in the Champions League.
But Arteta did not heed it.
And then Bournemouth happened!
No, last week’s disastrous display against Newcastle was no coincidence either.
Two weeks ago, I had a heated argument with some of my colleagues on a sports journalist group. After the Liverpool draw, someone dropped a quote credited to Jamie Carragher that resonated with me. The Liverpool man had insisted that for all the belief that Arteta was a student of Pep Guardiola, he was gradually morphing into a Jose Mourinho.
I agreed on the evidence of that shambolic second half showing where the team literally dropped off from almost the beginning of the second half and handed the initiative to Liverpool.
Take your mind a few weeks back to that PSG game I mentioned earlier; it was the exact same thing.
Yes, I know you just might be thinking, how come Ufuoma didn’t criticise Arteta for doing something similar against Villa, Atalanta, Spurs and City.
The difference is, those were tough away games. When are home, shouldn’t you take the initiative?
Against PSG, dropping off so early could have been fatal as one of football’s best cliché is that a 2-0 lead is a dangerous scoreline. While Arsenal pulled it off against PSG, Liverpool was different. Please miss me with that Liverpool are a strong opponent, you shouldn’t go all out an attack like my friend China Acheru kept saying.
Yes, they are a good team but they were on the ropes for 45 minutes and Arsenal only had a one goal lead. Even a layman like me knows that you should keep the same energy and momentum till at least the 60th minute and then back yourself to see it out.
But Arteta did otherwise.
The substitution after Arsenal went down to 10 men against Bournemouth still has a lot of us Gunners asking questions.
The continuous use of Mikel Merino over the last few games when the evidence has shown that he is either not a 100 percent fit or is still not in tune with what is expected of him beggars belief.
Make no mistake, this is no criticism of Mikel the player, it is more of Mikel the manager.
What manager persists with Leandro Trossard who has been in utter shambolic form since the last international break?
What manager persists with playing Kai Havertz in midfield when the evidence has shown us consistently that the German is in his best elements as a nine?
What manager keeps his precious jewel on the bench when the 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri looks like the only natural replacement for Martin Odegaard in the squad?
For the first one month, Arsenal coped well with their captain’s absence. They haven’t the last one month.
This is where you want your manager making the big decisions.
This is the moment you expect your manager to stop forcing a Kai to play in midfield to compensate for Odegaard’s loss but be brave enough to throw a 17-year-old who looks up for it.
But all the manager does is give five minutes here and 10 minutes there.
Arsenal have defenders who can play in various positions in the back four and even slot into midfield; midfielders who can play anywhere in the middle and attackers who can play anywhere in the front three.
Curiously, Arsenal only has one number nine. So, when things are not going right and you need an option, there is NO ONE on the bench.
The less said about Gabriel Jesus, the better. Arteta has shown in the last two games that he doesn’t trust Raheem Sterling either.
Who signed the Chelsea man again?
Going into the 11th game of the season, Arsenal are five points behind City and seven adrift of Liverpool. It means anything but a victory against Chelsea on Sunday and the Gunners may just be all but out of the title race in November.
Unbelievable!!!
My summation is if Arsenal go seven and nine points behind their rivals, it is not the final death sentence for their title hopes but it makes it a Mission Impossible 5 in the making.
And my bet is that the movie will not end in a victory parade in N5 come May 2025.
If that happens and Arsenal end the season trophy-less, then Mikel Arteta’s position is untenable.
PS: The Carabao Cup does not rank as a major trophy in my books.
I’d see you guys next week.
