Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn insists more credit needs to be given to Mikel Arteta for how he turned the club’s fortunes around following his appointment in 2019.
Speaking exclusively to Gooner News (courtesy of football betting site BetVictor), Winterburn said the Spaniard had a massive task on his hands getting the team back to the top of the table, and fans shouldn’t forget that:
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“I think what you have to look at, and I think people also need to realise is – I know Mikel Arteta won the FA Cup when you first come in – but I told lots of people that it was a huge job.”
“He did a revamp of the squad, we’ve had that. We were very, very close for two seasons – not counting this season – winning the league.”
“My gut feeling is we should have won it the first season, two years ago. Last season, I don’t think we did anything wrong. We were very, very close.”
Arsenal have come a long way under Arteta
It should be pointed out that the Gunners were sitting 10th in the league table when the Spaniard was hired in December 2019.
Over the course of the last five and a half years, his team have finished runners-up twice, and they are likely to end up second again this campaign too.
They have also reached a Champions League semi-final for the first time in 15 years this season. Nobody can doubt that the club is in a much better shape than when he arrived.
Can the Gunners go one step further?
Frustration about the way things have gone this campaign has definitely fed the narrative that Arteta has taken this team as far as he can.
However, injuries have definitely played a massive role in Arsenal taking a step back and there is nothing to stop them mounting another title challenge next season as long as they get their recruitment right this summer.
Read more from our exclusive interview with Winterburn as he talks about David Raya here.