Arsenal: If Mikel Arteta doesn’t work, blame the board

The former Arsenal captain, Mikel Arteta looks set to be named the new head coach of Arsenal. If his appointment does not work, the board are to blame.

At the time of this article being written, the vacant head coach role at Arsenal is still not occupied. However, it does seem now a matter of when and not if Mikel Arteta will be made official. The former Arsenal captain was heavily linked to the job after Arsene Wenger’s departure, but the club opted for Unai Emery instead.

Hindsight shows that was the wrong decision, unfortunately. It may be harsh, but most agree in saying that the three time winner of the Europa League really did not improve the team on any front whatsoever.

Now the board appear to be trying to mend the wounds we’ve acquired over the years with what they hope to be an antidote of sorts–the highly thought of Spaniard who is currently Pep Guardiola‘s No. 2 at Manchester City.

Arteta’s imminent arrival is a controversial one to say the least. Many supporters believe the club should be looking to hire a manager such as Carlo Ancelotti or Massimiliano Allegri. Both of whom are serial winners and would undoubtedly reinstall some sort of structure to the currently downward spiraling side.

Despite that heavily shared opinion, the board are going to go with the young and unproven, Arteta. The decision is certainly a brave one, however, I’m not sure the board actually have any clue how bold the choice is. I have the feeling that the decision came down to the money, rather than them trying to make a statement.

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Numerous alternatives are available, but their wages would surely be far higher than that of Guardiola’s number two. For example, various reports have stated that Ancelotti to Everton is a done deal, and many sources have claimed he will be paid a resounding £11.5 million pounds per year!

On the contrary, Arteta is reportedly set to earn £5 million pounds per year. I have a hard time believing that did not have some say in the choice the club made. The financial side of everything seems impossible to ignore to our board, so much so that they’d be willing to take a risk as massive as appointing an individual who has never been a head coach at the professional level.

If the appointment proves to be the wrong one yet again, the supporters will not turn on the inexperienced, former Arsenal captain, but instead on the hierarchy. Despite the fact that Arteta is by no means a club legend, the fans will still have an affinity for him given his time spent with us as a player. Most supporters already have a hard time believing that the current regime have any clue what they’re doing and if Arteta turns out to be a miserable failure, that feeling will be accentuated ten fold.

The hierarchy has taken a massive risk in appointing a man with no experience. Notwithstanding, the Arsenal faithful will back him until it reaches the stage of unbearable, just like they did with Emery and Wenger.

However, if it does once again reach the depressingly dreadful standard of which it did under Emery’s jurisdiction, I have no doubt that Arteta’s head will not be the one placed on the chopping block. The board have taken a massive gamble and despite them being so cost driven in terms of money, they seem to have lost sight of the bigger picture and have no idea how dearly it will cost them if this risk does not work out.