Arteta is overseeing Arsenal change into a mid-table club

Mikel Arteta was given a task. A mission to restore Arsenal to their rightful place in the upper echelons on the Premier League. A right they must earn, without the aid of multi-billionaires ripping out the rule book to suit their self-indulgent interests.

Right now Arsenal’s ‘rightful’ place is in mid-table.

At what point do the excuses run dry? In a year of management, Arteta has witnessed a global pandemic enforced halt of all football activity, club-wide wage cuts and redundancies, a fractured dressing room, a toxic fanbase, the drama surrounding the Super League, supporter protests against the owner and he is the tutor of a squad littered with mediocrity. Quite the résumé.

This, coupled with an FA Cup triumph, has bought him time. As it should any manager.

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Mikel Arteta is overseeing Arsenal change into a mid-table club as Premier League defeat to Everton adds to growing woes

On the quest for a top four return, one hamstrung by the aforementioned issues, there comes a point where the buck stops. A moment in the timeline where outside influences beyond his control stop becoming excuses and merge into accepted events. Any rookie manager shouldn’t have to deal with the events that have faced Arteta, but they have, and he has to start taking responsibility for what he can control.

The manager never shies away from criticism. He does assume responsibility. He does, however, need serious questions asking of him as he steers Arsenal into a mid-table club. Positive attributes, average elements and inconsistency are all traits found in this side, as they are with all middle of the run teams.

An astounding number of home defeats and an appalling amount of scoreless affairs have done little to help his case. There is widespread agreement that he is an excellent coach, therefore it becomes tougher to know how much to pin on his shoulders. As the pressure mounts on the owners they may see fit to pin the blame elsewhere.

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Arsenal have two paths laid ahead of them: win the Europa League and secure the financial benefits from it, those that can oversee the squad rebuild, or falter in Europe, be left with pennies to build skyscrapers and rely on the cunning of an inexperienced recruitment team to oversee change. The latter point at this stage hints towards more of what we witnessed in the Premier League on Friday.

Arteta is underperforming. Regardless of how much quality is in the squad, Arsenal may be 11th by the time they venture to St James’ Park. They are better than that.

A case for the head of the snake being removed before the chance to embark on the ‘unprecedented’ summer transfer window will solve little. There may be a new manager bounce, but only a short-lived one unless the gutting of this squad coupled with serious investment occurs.

Set the date for Christmas, once whatever squad is in place for 2021/22 has had its chance under the manager, in whatever competitions they may be involved in.

Headed towards mid-table regularity, all involved are fallible. From top to bottom. Defeat against Everton doesn’t do much to change the narrative as the season’s goals remain pinned on a potential three fixtures, but it does thin the ice.