Arsenal: 3 Mikel Arteta manager replacements – ranked

There’s nothing to say about that Arsenal performance against Villarreal. The words that can be used are ones that could be said about nearly every Arsenal performance this month: limp, slow, lethargic, pitiful. This is down to the manager.

A manager’s job is, first and foremost, to get the most out of the players he has. And on paper, this Arsenal team should beat Villarreal 10 times out of 10. Hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent for this team to crash spectacularly out of the semi-finals of Europe’s second-tier competition with only a single shot on target in the home leg.

Mikel Arteta should be sacked.

He’s inexperienced and there is nothing for him to fall back on. There’s no evidence he can get this team back to where it needs to be. He can’t get the best out of expensive talents. He can’t get his team to show up and focus or even compete.

Arsenal: 3 Mikel Arteta replacements as manager with Spaniard no longer fit to lead the club after abysmal season

Chelsea have shown where ruthlessness and owner backing can get a club. Frank Lampard, a club legend, was sacked when the Blues were ninth. Thomas Tuchel has inspired them to rise to fourth and they will play Manchester City in the Champions League final as well as competing in this season’s FA Cup final.

Using rival clubs as an example works to some degree, albeit never certain to transpire as fluidly in every case. What works for some may not work for others. Success is not guaranteed.

However, in this case, it doesn’t change the fact that Arteta is, incredibly, still in a job. It can’t go on. The owners – however that might change in the coming months – need to show that same ruthlessness.

Here are three managers who can give some semblance of hope to a fanbase in despair.

3. Erik ten Hag – Ajax

Yes, he may have just signed a new one-year extension in Amsterdam to keep him there until the end of the 2022/23 season, but there is no harm in trying.

Erik ten Hag has received plaudits the world over for his tenure at Ajax. His young team burst onto the scene of the Champions League, beating giants like Juventus and Real Madrid en route to the semi-finals. His squad is well constructed and full of player who’re just beautiful to watch. The triangles they form, the chances they create and the fearlessness and elegance the Dutch team play with is, at times, magnificent.

This is a sharp contrast to the sideways and backwards passing Arsenal is becoming used to. The laborious build-up play and weak chance creation makes for painful viewing.

Gone are the days of quick one-touch passing. Build up is slow and ponderous, with no urgency or tempo. Much has been made of the beautiful style popularized by Le Professeur, Arsene Wenger, and that “Arsenal DNA” has been lost.

Ten Hag would certainly bring it back to the Emirates.