Someone on the Farcaster football channel said, in response to Ash's essay questioning Arteta's legacy after five years at Arsenal, "I wonder what Chukwuka thinks about this..."
Well, here are a couple of thoughts I have regarding whether Arteta should be fired at the end of the season or if his legacy is in question already at the club.
First, I Acknowledge The Problems
First of all, I do acknowledge the problems that have led us to this place where some people are calling for Arteta's sacking. One FA Cup and two community shields in five years are certainly not the most impressive of trophy hauls. Arsenal have finished second in the last two seasons and arguably should have won it both times. Were it not for a Saliba injury one season, and two bizarre losses to Fulham and West Ham the other season we might be speaking about Arteta's career in completely different terms.
But none of those things infuriate me as much as what has happened this season. The reason we didn't win the league the last two really came down to Manchester City being the better team. This season, City is imploding, but Arsenal instead of capitalising on this implosion to assert dominance have decided to implode as well. Very "love thy neighbour" of the Gunners. For years we have pleaded with Mikel Arteta to rotate his squad some more, to give the most important players a break, and also to develop squad depth and have capable backup players in case of an emergency.
Saka is now injured after years of playing every single game and our replacement for him is... no one really. Raheem Sterling? Gabriel Jesus? Martinelli? Nwaneri? If any of those players were actually the plan b in the case of a Saka injury then maybe Mikel should actually be fired. We simply have no backup. Ben White is also out long-term (although everyone seems to have forgotten about that thanks to Timber, which is a blessing and a curse). Also, we've had to play games without Odegaard and Gabriel due to injuries this season. Saka, White, Odegaard, and Gabriel, are all players that have been used relentlessly (perhaps even needlessly on occasion) by Mikel in recent years.
Arsenal football club is not in the best position it could be in right now, and a great deal of the blame lies with Mikel Arteta, a hundred percent.
And, Maybe Arsenal Should Sack Him
Maybe that needs to happen.
When I say that I don't want to see Arteta go just yet, people often assume that I am absolutely convinced that things will get better if we stick with him. Or they assume that I am saying that Arteta cannot be sacked after all he has done for the club.
In reality, I make neither assertion.
Maybe sacking Arteta is the right move for Arsenal to make right now. I don't think it is and I am going to lay out my arguments for that in a moment, but I can certainly sympathise with someone who thinks he should be sacked. Maybe that's just what we need.
While I do think that Arteta has earned sentimentality from the Arsenal fanbase, I certainly don't think he's untouchable because of that sentimentality. The truth will always be that Arteta joined this club when it was in a really bad state and he has lifted us into realms we almost didn't believe we could reach anymore. And while we will always be grateful for that, it may be that this is as far as he can take us, and we need to find someone to take us further.
But, I Think He Should Stay
At least one more full season. I think that Arteta has earned at least one more summer and another season of full backing from the owners, the players, and the fans of this football club. And the reason is quite simple, despite some hiccups lately, Arsenal is headed in the right direction under Arteta. This season has been full of unexpected setbacks, but nonetheless this club is on the right trajectory for success under Arteta.
If you doubt me just look at the Premier League table for the last calendar year.
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Of course, it's not the table for a full season, there are no trophies for being the best in a calendar year, I know all that. And yet that table shows clearly that over the course of the past year Arsenal were the best team in the league. At the very least, that shows a team that is not only getting better but already has the ability to hang in there with the best teams in the league.
The fact of the matter is that Arsenal are already a good team capable of winning the league at this moment. The problem is that Arsenal is also a team that tends to choke at crucial moments, and they lack the ability to take their destiny into their own hands and impose themselves on the competition over the course of an entire season.
Tactically I think this translates into two problems for Arteta (and Arsenal): squad depth and attacking firepower.
First, Arteta needs to solve Arsenal's squad depth issue, especially in midfield and attack. When everyone is fit and firing Arsenal has arguably the best defensive unit in the world right now (just look at the goal difference for Arsenal and City in the table above). However, in midfield and attack it's a different story.
The Arsenal midfield is a mess at the moment. A Thomas Partey who is well past his physical prime is still a starting midfielder when everyone's fit, Declan Rice who should be playing in Partey's position is plugging holes elsewhere. Martin Odegaard has given his all for this club but where is the replacement if he's injured or needs a rest? Who can step up and do what he does well enough to take minutes off him for, say, FA Cup early rounds? And of course, we have failed to replace Granit Xhaka's profile since he left, opting instead for "duel winners" like Havertz and Merino in that position since he left. Havertz has been a failure at that position, let's be honest and Merino although a good player does not offer anywhere near as much as Xhaka going forward.
This midfield needs at least two players urgently depending on Rice's future. If Rice is going to keep playing as an 8 then we need a Partey replacement who brings all his qualities on the ball while being a physical upgrade on him, and then we need support for Martin Odegaard. But this doesn't seem the optimal route to me. Declan Rice should be Arsenal's long-term 6, in which case we would need a left-8 who is basically Xhaka but ideally with greater offensive output (because with Rice at 6 and Gabriel and Saliba at CB we have an incredibly defensively sturdy base).
In attack, well just look at what is happening now with Saka's injury. Not a single trustworthy, direct replacement for arguably the most important player in the squad (yes, Sterling, but, can you trust him to step up? Of course not, maybe this is where Nwaneri comes in). On the left, we have options in Martinelli and Trossard but squad depth is about quality as well as quantity, Martinelli is having a bad season and Trossard isn't reliably consistent. At Center-Forward we have arguably the biggest issue, Gabriel Jesus can do a decent job when he's on form, but, he's almost injured these days, and when he isn't there isn't any guarantee that he'll be on form from week to week. And then we have Havertz who again can do a serviceable job but is no out and out 9.
Secondly, Arsenal need firepower in attack like they need nothing else. When you look at the front line at the moment, it's a depressing picture. The only really consistent threat in that front line is Saka. I have no idea what has happened to Martinelli (actually I do, he hasn't been as good since Xhaka left, make of that what you will) but Arsenal needs a left-winger who can provide attacking threat as consistently as Saka does from the right. Names like Leao and Kvaratskhelia have been floated and that gives an idea of the caliber of player needed at left-wing. The same can be said for the Center-Forward position, we need someone who can create chances, finish them, and offer threat on transitions, we need an Alexander Isak or someone like him, badly.
In the same vein, an argument could be made that Arsenal also needs a greater offensive threat from the midfield—a player like Kevin De Bruyne who can offer immense offensive threat from just about anywhere on the pitch. As Arsenal fans will remember, we already had that player in Fabio Vieira, but for some reason, he hasn't worked out at Arsenal. I do agree with these people. We cannot have Martin Odegaard being our only offensive threat from the middle of the park. We cannot.
Now, of course, I don't expect Arteta to solve all these problems in one fell swoop. But they do need solving, and even solving any two of them can really elevate this team. For example, if we sign a left-8 to finally fill the Xhaka void, not only can we put Rice in his preferred position at 6, but we also probably start getting the best out of Martinelli again which allows us to focus more on buying a Center-Forward and kicking our Left-Wing issues down the road a little bit.
In Conclusion
I am fully confident as of right now that Arteta can solve these problems. Yes, he has gotten a bit stuck in his ways recently, especially with regards to squad rotation and giving young players a chance. But we can already see him beginning to give young players greater opportunities this season, perhaps out of necessity. It can certainly be difficult to change your perspective on certain things.
But, as of right now, I have faith that Arteta can identify the flaws with this team better than I can. I have faith that he will stop at nothing to fix them, that they can be fixed over the course of the next year, and that he can deliver the silverware we all crave and cement his legacy. This is his team, his vision, his project, and while there have been hiccups along the way, he has brought Arsenal a long way. As of right now, I have faith that he can take us further still.
I say back him for another season and see how it goes.
