Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has “until Christmas” to be in title contention or he could lose his job, according to Gunners legend Paul Merson.
The Gunners have had a season of ups and downs but ultimately they once again failed to win any silverware under Arteta despite the early-season promise.
Arsenal were in the title race in the first half of the season but never really got near champions Liverpool in 2025 with the Reds currently 12 points ahead with a game in hand.
Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0 on Sunday to secure a runners-up finish for a third campaign in a row and Merson insists Arteta has to improve next term or face the sack.
Merson said on Sky Sports: “I think Arteta has got until Christmas. They will have to be in the top two at Christmas to keep on going [with Arteta].”
When asked if Arteta must deliver a trophy next season, Merson replied: “Yeah I think so. You can’t get to four [years without a trophy].
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“Everybody wants to play for Arsenal, people will come to Arsenal, so it’s not like they’re scratching to get players and they’ve got the money.
“For me, yeah, next year he’s got to be in the top two by Christmas or they’ll go for someone else.
“When it’s your time, you’ve got to make it count… I just think they have to make it count and I think this is the last year.”
Arteta and Martin Odegaard gave speeches on the pitch after the final whistle of their win over Newcastle after a big few months that included the highs of victory over Real Madrid and the lows of being knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.
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On the emotions in his speech at full-time, Arteta told a post-match press conference: “It was emotional because of the way I feel and it’s great.
“We had a dream, I said it out there, to deliver a big trophy this season for our people and because I think the team deserved it as well in the journey that we’ve been together in the last three or four years.
“We haven’t achieved that and there are a lot of factors and a lot of situations that we’ve been through for the last nine and a half months that are not happening but make sure that we’re still valid.
“There’s a lot of incredible things this club is doing, the team is doing, the players are doing, the way we are competing and the consistency that we are showing. If we are not able to see that, that’s a really, really dangerous thing to do. Just expecting something and playing if we don’t, that’s a really dangerous thing.
“I know they don’t want us there, where we are now, knocking on the door every year and make sure that we can see clarity. We stay very disciplined and very clear and ambitious with what we want to do in the summer.”
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