Is Mikel Arteta Running Out Of Time?

Karan Ahgun

— 4 min read
Is Mikel Arteta Running Out Of Time?

With Arsenal lagging behind Liverpool in the title race and not looking likely to win a major trophy this season, Mikel Arteta could face massive pressure from the Arsenal hierarchy and fans over his position at the club. Arsenal's performances in the Premier League so far this season have been uninspiring and inconsistent and with the drop off from Manchester City, many would have expected the Gunners to be the team to capitalise but this didn't come to fruition and instead, they look to be heading for another season of title heartbreak. If Arsenal do not win a major trophy this year, will Mikel Arteta face a fight to keep his job?

After a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United in the 1st leg of the Carabao Cup Semi-Final, there was some noise online around the capability of Mikel Arteta to be the manager who takes Arsenal over the line. They are also 6 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League, having played a game more and are trophy less since 2020. Over the past 2 seasons, Arsenal have been involved in the Premier League title race against Manchester City and had been commended for their football, which many people believed was the most exciting football being played in the league. But since this season started, Arsenal's style of play has been lacklustre and they are not scoring open-play goals as much as possible. Their top scorer in the league is Kai Havertz with 7 goals and much has been made of Arsenal's reliance on set-piece goals in recent weeks. The Gunners have scored 9 goals from corners this season and the prominence of set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, has been a big topic in the media in recent weeks too with the camera operators focusing on him on the touchline whenever Arsenal have a set-piece opportunity.

The main source of frustration for Arsenal fans recently has been the lack of cutting edge in their team's attack without Bukayo Saka. Since the England international's lengthy injury, Arsenal's attackers have struggled for consistency and often lacked the quality to create an abundance of clear-cut chances against the opposition. The form of Martin Ødegaard has been a concern too meaning that the team's creative output has been limited and as a result, opposition teams have somewhat sussed out how to defend against Arsenal in open play. The lack of top quality in attack was particularly prevalent against Newcastle United in midweek. Both Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon scored in that game and it's not amiss to say that both would get into Arsenal's starting lineup. Despite creating many opportunities against Newcastle on Tuesday, Arsenal came out of that game with nothing to show and a mountain to climb in the 2nd leg but if they had a Gordon or Isak in their team, it is almost certain that they would have scored. Just by looking at Arsenal's two clearest opportunities and swapping Havertz and Martinelli for Gordon and Isak, Arsenal would have scored at least 2 goals in that match. It is necessary for Arsenal to replenish their attack with new players but will the club's owners have the appetite to spend in January when clubs are known to hike prices and deals are difficult to complete?

Along with his side's current lacklustre form in attack, Mikel Arteta's record in the cup competitions has not been spectacular. He won the FA Cup in 2020 but since then, his team has only reached the League Cup semi-finals twice, the Europa League semi-finals once and hasn't progressed passed the 4th Round of the FA Cup. This record in the cup competitions is clearly not good enough and winning the FA Cup seems to be the best possible route to lifting silverware this season. Arsenal fans could become impatient or irritated by their team's lack of silverware but would also be hoping that winning the FA Cup doesn't paper of some cracks in their squad-building like it did for Manchester United last season.

Whilst Mikel Arteta's job is not in immediate danger, his team's performance of the next 6 months is likely to influence fans' opinions on whether or not he is the right man to lead the club to a first Premier League title for over 20 years. It feels like we could be coming to the point where Arsenal's decision makers will have to make a decision on the manager and whilst Arteta has done amazingly over the past 5 seasons, there is always pressure on a manager at a top club to win trophies and so far, he hasn't been able to deliver as much silverware as he would have wanted. So if Arsenal were to continue on this path of playing uninspiring football and not win a trophy this season, the pressure on Arteta will definitely start to build going into the summer.

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