JEREMY CROSS COLUMN: The Quadruple is still on for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta - just not the one they had in mind, as their season heads towards the ultimate collapse
13:00, 13 Apr 2026Updated 14:09, 13 Apr 2026
Mikel Arteta
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Mikel Arteta is in serious danger of becoming the ultimate choker (Image: Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta must feel like he's stuck in a washing machine. With his head on a fast spin. On a repetitive cycle which is threatening to rinse and repeat the Arsenal manager.
And he only has himself to blame. Because every team in the land is a reflection of the person who coaches it. And what the 44-year-old Spaniard is seeing is a side frozen with fear.
Not tired due to having competed on four fronts for large parts of this season, having played a lot of games. Just a group of footballers who cannot handle the ultimate pressure when it matters most. Arsenal have turned in on themselves.
Arsenal
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Arsenal struggled for creativity against Bournemouth(Image: Getty Images)
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The Premier League leaders have forgotten how to dominate inferior opponents. And continue to rely on long throws and set-pieces to break teams down.
It's the hope that kills you, where sport is concerned. And Arteta is suffering another slow and painful death that is all of his own making.
Pep Guardiola, of all people, Arteta's mentor, can hammer what would in all likelihood be the final nail in his rival's coffin, when Arsenal travel to the Etihad this weekend.
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Mikel Arteta is a man under pressure(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
A win for Manchester City would leave them just three points behind Arsenal, but with a game in hand and a better goal difference.
What does Arteta have his squad doing during training sessions? Did he learn nothing from working under Guardiola at City, when it comes to studying what winning football looks like?
All is not lost, however. Because the momentum might now be with City, but Saturday's showdown is still a wonderful opportunity for Arsenal to make a gigantic statement themselves.
It's the kind of game that defines the great managers - and exposes the average ones.
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Pedro Porru/MB Media/Getty Images)
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Arsenal's players know it's make or break time(Image: Pedro Porru/MB Media/Getty Images)
If Arteta wants to bring an end to being the bridesmaid, he needs to grasp the nettle and meet fire with fire in Manchester.
Because if he doesn't, his current tactics will be picked apart by Guardiola and City. But Arteta has a major problem. The Spaniard doesn't know how to win big trophies. And neither do his players.
There was proof of this in the Carabao Cup final, when Guardiola and his team put on a second half masterclass to take the first silverware of the season.
Guardiola knows what it takes to win the most important games of all. And subsequent trophies. The experience City have built up under his leadership in the last decade becomes priceless in these scenarios.
Pep Guardiola and his proven Manchester City winners like Rodri are waiting to pounce if Arsenal slip up
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Pep Guardiola and his proven Manchester City winners like Rodri are waiting to pounce if Arsenal slip up(Image: 2025 James Gill - Danehouse)
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The Quadruple is still on for Arsenal. Just not the one they had in mind. Blowing four trophies would be some collapse.
An implosion of epic and unprecedented proportions. Leaving Arsenal with a manager who flatters to deceive. Someone who can't get the job done. Who crumbles when the going gets tough.
And which club wants someone like that?