Arsenal: 3 reasons to give Mikel Arteta a new contract

2. Building for the Future – Talent ID

This point needs a caveat: Arteta has signed some absolute dross during his tenure. Some will question how much of that was Edu’s doing, but the Spaniard still had to sign off on the likes of Alex Runarsson, Willian and Cedric, so he’s very culpable.

Which makes it remarkable that the permanent signing of Willian and then the previous summer were just 24 months apart. That’s two recruitment entirely different strategies employed in the space of just two years. The club turned it around.

What has been built now is a team for the present, but whom will not reach their peaks for a number of years. That’s exceptional squad building and elite talent ID. Nobody could have foreseen the impressions so many of the recent summer’s arrivals have made.

It was only Real Sociedad who wanted Martin Odegaard, Manchester United should have gone for Benjamin White, probably Aaron Ramsdale too, and yet these ‘backups’ have come to Arsenal and been magnificent. They weren’t names jumping off the page.

Look at Tomiyasu, who was ‘offered to every club in Europe’, arriving and being outstanding in his debut season. Edu wanted to sign Emerson Royal (many did) and Neto, with Arteta overruling him and getting Tomi and Aaron. He knew what he was doing.

And despite making mistakes previously and spending a lot of money overall, he’s still yet to acquire any forwards, with the exception of Willian.

This team will pop with a new centre-forward and there is no reason not to trust Arteta and co on who they bring in. What this team is and what this team will become is reason in itself to back the man at the helm.

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