Richard Keys has dropped an update over Mikel Arteta’s future following Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in a fixture that could prove decisive in the Premier League title race.
City have reduced the gap between themselves and league-leaders Arsenal to just three points thanks to Sunday’s crucial victory at the Etihad Stadium. Goals either side of half-time from Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland secured the win for Pep Guardiola’s side.
City, who have a game in hand and no Champions League football to contend with, will leapfrog Arsenal into top spot with another victory over relegation-threatened Burnley on Wednesday night.
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Arsenal fans are now beginning to fear the worst after their nine-point advantage was reduced to three points in the space of a week. The long-suffering Gunners’ faithful are desperate to see their club end their 22-year wait for a Premier League trophy.
Meanwhile, Arteta, ranked as one of the world's best managers right now, is acutely aware that another second-placed finish would be considered a failure by the masses. An end-of-season capitulation would inevitably lead to questions over the Spaniard’s future at the Emirates Stadium.
Keys Drops Arteta Bombshell
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Richard Keys, the outspoken ex-Sky Sports presenter who is currently employed as beIN Sports’ senior football anchor until the end of the season, believes Arteta will be sacked if Arsenal fail at the final hurdle.
“I think he’s gone as well,” Keys said after Arsenal’s defeat on Sunday. “I’m deadly serious.”
He continued: “If [Arsenal] come second, the only thing that might keep him in a job is winning the Champions League, but I don’t think they’re good enough to get even close.”
Andy Gray then pointed out that Arsenal are in the semi-finals, to which Keys responded: “Then that’s as far as it goes. Are they better than PSG? Are they better than Bayern Munich?”
On Arteta, Keys added: “He can’t come second again and keep his job. He cannot! If they’re not thinking now about that [potential replacements for Arteta], then they’re not doing their jobs.”
While Arteta has produced some excellent work since being appointed Arsenal head coach in 2019, spurning this golden opportunity to end the club’s Premier League trophy drought would be a devastating blow for the manager and everyone else associated with the Gunners.
Winning the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history would keep Arteta in a job, Keys believes, although Arsenal’s recent run of form makes that particular task feel far more unlikely than it did a few weeks ago.