Arsenal: Mikel Arteta suggests lack of ambition… again

Mikel Arteta is seemingly set to become Arsenal manager. I have been a fan of the appointment, but there is reason to doubt it. Firstly, and most pertinently, it shows a lack of ambition.

The search for a new manager is coming to an end. It has now been a month since Arsene Wenger announced that he was to depart at the end of the season. Even though they didn’t start their hunt in earnest until the season concluded out of respect for Wenger, Arsenal have still had plenty of time to find their successor.

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And it seems as though they have found their man. Mikel Arteta, per a wide range of reports, is set to become the new Arsenal manager with a decision pioneered by Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis, Head of Recruitment Sven Mislintat, and Head of Relations Raul Sanllehi.

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There has been a late rally by Thierry Henry and Unai Emery, who impressed the Gunners during his budget-stretching time at Sevilla prior to his more recent tenure at Paris Saint-Germain. But it is most likely that the decision has been made and the final touches of the agreement, like the constitution of the backroom staff, contractual clauses, power dynamics, short and long-term plans for the club, are being ironed out.

The question that presides over the process now, then, is a simple one: Why did Arsenal choose Arteta? Was it the attraction of youth? Was it the influence of two of the greatest managers in the history of the game? Was it the intelligence and awareness with which he played with? Or was it something more concerning?

Now, I should state that I am a fan of the Arteta appointment. It is a huge risk, but it is one that I am excited to see the club make.

That said, there is, for me, one clear reason as to why Arteta, and not more established names, is to be hired: He is a coach, a developer of talent, a modern-day manager, not the all-powerful traditional kind like Wenger. The reason why, I believe, Arsenal wanted an individual like that is because they do not have the budget to compete with the likes of the Manchester clubs without developing talent, not just accruing it.

Under such constraints, Arteta, then, is a sensible appointment. That is why I am a fan of the decision. But should those constraints even be in place? Surely, they are just a sign of a lack of ambition shown by the board, by Stan Kroenke, by the club? And that is the one problem that I have with the Arteta appointment. It is another sign that this club, whatever they may say in public, is not serious about challenging for the title.

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Arteta is being hired because he is the type of manager who can do well on a tight budget because of his coaching skills. And that is the confirmation, if you needed any, that the Gunners are no longer geared to compete.