Arsenal give Arteta five games to save his job – Conte a candidate

It is no secret that Mikel Arteta is a man under severe pressure at the moment. Multiple defeats, limp performances and questionable tactics have the Spaniard in the hottest of hot seats. It appears he doesn’t have much time to turn things around at Arsenal.

Since taking over from Unai Emery in 2019, the Gunners have shown dashes of promise intermittent with underwhelming results. After a horror start to the Premier League season in which Arsenal has lost both games and failed to score, pressure is mounting on Arteta to turn the club’s fortunes around.

According to Matt Law of The Telegraph, Arteta has five games to show he can get things back on track. Following the defeat to Chelsea, the manager staunchly insisted that when his senior first team absentees return and the new signings find their feet, the results will ‘100%’ improve.

While it seems fair to properly assess Arteta when he has his full complement of players available, the pressing issue is can he keep Arsenal afloat until players return? What makes it even worse is after a midweek trip to West Brom in the EFL Cup, Arsenal travel to the Etihad to face Manchester City.

Arsenal give Mikel Arteta five games to avoid being sacked after international break with Antonio Conte lined up as a candidate to replace him

After visiting Pep Guardiola and his City side comes the first international break of the season, which is followed by a run of favorable looking fixtures for Arteta: Norwich, Burnley, Tottenham, and Brighton are all in Arsenal’s sights and improvement must be demonstrated during that spell.

Nothing is particularly startling in the piece. Managers are always under pressure. It’s a results business and, as seen already, Arteta has been heavily backed by those above him. They do believe in his capabilities but there is always one straw to break the camel’s back.

If Arteta fails to oversee a ‘significant’ upturn in results of performances then it would crank up the pressure to such a degree that his position would be nearly untenable. With still a week to go in the transfer window and more money potentially being parted with – Arsenal are currently the highest spenders in Europe – the Spaniard may face the chop.

Kieran Trippier has been a player Arsenal have been keen on as it looks to address it’s right-back situation. However, Atletico Madrid are not going to entertain any offer unless his £51m release clause is met. That makes it nearly impossible to get a deal done, especially for a soon-to-be 31-year-old right-back. Although Trippier is a class above every right-back option Arsenal currently has, the fee though is simply too much. A swap deal with Hector Bellerin has been mooted, though.

Should Mikel meet his end, one name has consistently been seen to replace him, and that is former Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte.

Arsenal would have to convince Conte, mind you. The Italian has never been with a club for more than three years and would demand substantial funds to sign established players over developing youth. So, while a magnificent manager – one of the best in the business – the appointment would go against everything Arsenal hired Arteta for.

Anything less than his demands would result in Conte rejecting Arsenal’s offer. Tottenham already know this. Still, he’s on the Gunners’ list.

Of course, of this matters for little if/when Arteta turns the ship around over the next month or so. Yet make no mistake, the Spaniard is skating on thin ice.