AFCON 2025
Arsenal will end the season trophyless for the fifth consecutive year – a reality most of the core fans are already used to. The Gunners’ last attempt to win a title ended in disappointment as PSG knocked Mikel Arteta’s men out of the Champions League semi-final.
Mikel Arteta believes that his team was the better team in both legs. Before the second leg, Arteta argued Arsenal could have won the Premier League in the last two seasons, given the number of points they had garnered, the highest being 89, even though Liverpool had 92 and 97 points and still didn’t win the League.
After five years at the job, one FA Cup, two FA Community Shields, and over £750 million spent, Arteta’s time at the club might come to an end soon. Without a doubt, the Pep Guardiola protégé has established himself as one of the best managers in Europe currently, but it appears he has reached his limits with this Arsenal side.
The following reasons suggest why Mikel Arteta might not be the man to lead Arsenal to glory, even though they appear to be quite close, with four consecutive semi-final losses.
1. Poor recruitment plan
Mikel Arteta’s refusal to strengthen the forward areas, which have been lacking for a while, left the Gunners ill-prepared for the latter stages of the league and the expanded version of the Champions League. Instead of signing a striker in the summer or January transfer window, the Spaniard opted for an extra midfielder, Mikel Merino, whom he used as a false 9 in the absence of Kai Havertz. Arteta also recruited Raheem Sterling, Riccardo Calfiori, Gabriel Jesus, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who contributed little to the needs of the team.
2. Arteta is not a risk taker
Mikel Arteta is a rigid manager who would rather stick to his ways rather than take risks when push comes to shove. Martin Ordegaars’s performance has been nothing but underwhelming for months, but the Spaniard prefers to play his captain over anyone else in the central attacking area of his set-up. A player like Ethan Nwaneri, who has shown his quality despite limited playing time, could have offered the Gunners novelty in the final third. Also, the reliance on set-pieces in crucial games is not sustainable and can be rendered useless against teams with proper defensive set-ups, as seen against PSG and some other teams in the League.
3. Limit reached
Arteta has reached his limits with Arsenal. No doubt, he has done a good job in making the Gunners a force to reckon with in the league, at least over the last few years. However, Arsenal needs a proven winner, a coach who will pull the plug and get the team across the line. Mikel Arteta has no reason why he should be trusted with yet another transfer window. The team needs a breath of “fresh air,” and Arteta seems to have run out of steam. Arteta is likely to win major trophies in a team with established structures – a “readymade” team like Manchester City, instead of overseeing a rebuild.
