‘When will the criticism of Mikel Arteta happen?’ Stan Collymore asks. It’s literally always happening, mate.
The former Premier League striker turned pundit is genuinely baffled that Arteta isn’t under pressure at Arsenal in a hot take swing and a miss for two painfully obvious reasons: a) he absolutely is under pressure at Arsenal, and b) we’re three games into a 38-game Premier League season and Arsenal are third having won two of those three.
‘I find it quite startling that Mikel Arteta isn’t under pressure at Arsenal. Every season I’ve written this column, I always say at some time in the season: when will the criticism of Mikel Arteta happen? And the only reason I can think why he doesn’t criticise is because he has this uncanny ability to go into his next press conference with a big, beaming smile, as if he’s just put out a team that’s beaten Real Madrid 6-0.’
Only this week Arteta has been roundly slammed by fans, pundits and the press for his safe and pedestrian football in defeat to Liverpool. This very day we compared his football to that of a rugby team. We would argue that Arteta gets far more than his fair share of criticism. It’s one of our absolute favourite things to do.
And the ‘only reason’? Really? Not his three consecutive second-placed finishes, the brilliant squad he’s helped to build or the love and affection he’s engendered between the fans and the players? It’s an opinion, certainly.
‘It’s remarkable. Every press conference, he looks confident. And I think to myself, that’s quite bold for a manager that’s only won one major trophy. The reality is if he was a golfer, and we kept on talking about him as an elite golfer, but in the last five years he hadn’t won a major, would be saying, well, he’s not an elite golfer. And I think you could say the same about him as an elite manager.’
Number of years between majors for ‘non-elite’ golfers: Phil Mickelson – 8 years; Ernie Els – 10 years; Tiger Woods – 11 years; Rory McIlroy – 11 years.
READ: Arsenal BOTTOM of the Premier League table on ‘Big Chance’ metric
‘It feels like there is a force-fed mythology that he had to turn around Arsenal that were finishing out at the top 10 all the time. They weren’t bottom half of the table, they were firmly 6th, 7th, 8th. And all they needed was somebody to come in and buy two or three players. It wasn’t major surgery that was needed where they were finished 16th or 17th, like a Man United or a Spurs.’
Sorry, who is pedalling this bottom-half ‘mythology’? And who is the manager who could take the 6th, 7th or 8th best Premier League team to the title? Didn’t spot too many people plumping for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest or Brighton as title winners this season.
‘From my perspective, taking into account the performance against Liverpool, which was at best lukewarm and lacking in any belief, I am genuinely surprised that at this early stage of the season, we haven’t seen big-name managers being touted to take his position. And it’s almost as if it’s a given now, because he wasn’t sacked in the first couple of years, that he can now be the manager of Arsenal for the next 10 years and finish 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and that’ll be OK.’
It’s been three games, Stan. They’ve beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford, spanked Leeds 5-0 and although undoubtedly showed Liverpool too much respect at Anfield, lost that game thanks to an absurdly brilliant free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai.
People not calling for his sack after three games doesn’t mean they won’t after ten. Believe us, if there’s even a whiff of his possible sacking, we will be there to ram that narrative down the throats of anyone willing to come along with us for the ride and plenty who aren’t.
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And there is not a single living person who believes Arteta can go trophyless for ‘the next 10 years’ at Arsenal. The consensus is that it has to be this season or he’s out. But again, it’s been three games and they’re third.
‘Looking at Pep Guardiola last season, it got to the point where people were legitimately asking if this the end for Pep? Ange Postecoglou won the Europa League and then got sacked. What makes Mikel Arteta’s work at Arsenal any more exceptional other than steadying the ship, and added a little bit of progression? So for me, it’s really simple. He should be under pressure from all quarters this season, especially after the Liverpool game. And if he doesn’t deliver at the end of this season, it’s time to go.’
People weren’t really asking if Pep might be sacked though, were they? The question was whether he would walk. And the Ange Postecoglou comparison might be the most mad thing of all. Tottenham finished 36 points behind Arsenal and won a trophy not available to Arteta because he’s made Arsenal too good to be competing in the Europa League.
And he rounds it all off with two points that no-one is disagreeing with – Arteta should be under pressure and will be sacked if he doesn’t deliver this season – as if it were a summary of the inane, speculative nonsense beforehand.
Why isn’t he under pressure? He is under pressure. Why are people claiming Arteta has done major surgery on Arsenal? They aren’t. Why is it OK for him to finish 2nd, 3rd, or 4th for the next ten years? It’s not, and no-one’s saying it is. Why hasn’t he been sacked when Ange Postecoglou was? Oh, FFs.