Where are Arsenal going under Mikel Arteta?

Arsenal Are Not Improving Under Mikel Arteta – His Job Hangs by a Thread

You can’t put Arsenal in the same bracket as the top five/six (Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Leicester City) and truth be told, are they even viewed as a top 10 team now? I think we all know the answer to that.

In a year in which it was meant to be a season of improvement and progress – not straight into the top four, obviously – with signs shown that the Arteta model can produce results indicative of a reasonably good side, eight games into the season and it still feels like this team is not much different to the one Arteta inherited. It’s as if you could give him any set of players and they’ll perform exactly the same.

There have been some promising signs, and it hasn’t been too long that Arteta has had this new crop to work with, but the overreliance on youth (Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe), the lack of in-game management, and flawed attacking principles see Arsenal drift further behind the ‘Big Six’. Add in Newcastle and their newfound spending power and suddenly, seeing Arsenal as a mid-table team could become the norm. If that isn’t the perception already, that is.

That is scary to ponder.

We have been saying for months to give Arteta time – he has been given it. Nearly two years have passed and there has been no significant change in how the team plays, as aside from the odd standout performance, there is no consistency to the team anymore. Inconsistent teams capable of the superb and the ordinary in equal measure are mid-table teams.

The win against Tottenham felt like the beginning of something for Arsenal, a turning of the page, if you will. However just a few weeks on and it feels like we are back to square one. The North London Derby buzz once again clouds judgement.

It leaves the entire fanbase devoid of any hope that the season can be salvaged. It’s now or never for the manager. Facing Aston Villa in the Premier League on Friday is gigantic.