Why Arsenal have ‘no doubts’ despite worst start in decades?
When Arsenal appointed Mikel Arteta as head coach a year ago on Sunday, they were 10th in the Premier League and seven points adrift of the Champions League places.
That, it was felt, was just not good enough.
So for the Gunners now to be 15th in the table, 10 points off fourth and significantly closer to the bottom three than the European places has inevitably raised questions.
The absence of supporters at Emirates Stadium means taking the temperature of the fan base can be tricky. Social media is rarely a place to find measured, nuanced debate, so perhaps it is not surprising #ArtetaOut trends when the team is losing.
Nothing new there, but those who want change one year after the Arsenal manager’s arrival should know it will make no difference.
“We have to accept the Premier League form in recent weeks has not been good enough for this football club,” Arteta said on Friday.
“It’s like anything in this industry – you need results. But after a big shake-up we need to find stability. We need time, we all knew that when they made the decision with me to start this new project. It wasn’t a quick fix and it was going to take time.”
The vote of confidence issued to Arteta by Arsenal technical director Edu seems to be more than empty rhetoric. It bodes well for the manager that the message is very clear that he will be given that time he says he needs.
The reality is he is certainly going to need it.
Source: BBC Sports