Mikel Arteta thinks that Arsenal deserve to be winning games they have drawn this season. This is concerning, as it shows a severe lack of accountability.
It is not unfair to say that Arsenal have been subpar this season. Sure, they've been without some of their best players at the start of this campaign but they should still be within touching distance of the Premier League title. As it stands, they are six points behind the leaders Liverpool, having played one game more.
So, Arsenal have not bewildered anyone, by any stretch of the imagination. Over the last two seasons, they took the Premier League title race until the very end but there is a growing feeling that the title race is already over for the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta’s delusional comments are really concerning for Arsenal fans
However, Mikel Arteta is not overly concerned by criticism of him and his team's performances. In fact, he shook off the criticism, by claiming that Arsenal deserved to win their last six games by quite some distance.
In his own words (quoted by Fabrizio Romano on X), Arteta said: “Criticism? We deserved to win the last six games by a mile”.
In usual circumstances, this might come across as one of those "cold" interview moments. However, given the context of Arsenal being third in the table and struggling to find consistency, these comments must come across as delusional.
Arsenal are not owed wins. No team "deserves" to win a game. They either win, lose or draw. And if they're not winning, with high standards such as Arsenal, then criticism is justified.
We can only assume that Mikel Arteta is referring to the statistical dominance that Arsenal showed in both draws against Fulham and Everton. Dominating the stats does not mean that Arsenal "deserved" to win.
If anything, Arsenal being dominant throughout two matches recently yet struggling to win is more cause for concern from Arteta and from the fans, more cause for criticism.
Look, we all know that Mikel Arteta is a great manager. He clearly has the club's best interest at heart too, since he both captained and managed the side. He is Arsenal through and through and I have no doubt in my mind that he is the right man for the job.
However, these comments are concerning. Unfortunately, he has failed to take accountability here and this must be avoided going forward, he doesn't want to become like a certain Aussie manager down the road.
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