What Arsenal boss Arteta deserves praise for

Enmeshed in turmoil and division, Arsenal were in chaos when Mikel Arteta was tapped to be the head coach.

But the rumblings of discontent had been stewing at the club for several years, dating far back to the early 2010s when Arsenal fans watched the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie whisked through the revolving exit doors.

Over the years as Arsenal continued to decline, differences in opinion snowballed into bitter and personal resentment, balkanising the fanbase and spreading the toxic fume that was starting to hover above the club.

Despite his illustrious helm at the club, Arsene Wenger was once booed and heckled by some Arsenal fans while boarding a train at Stoke. Hector Bellerin was also subjected to booing.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1507704496520142852

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta deserves immense praise for unifying the fans and players this season in what has been a major turnaround

Arteta took over the reins mere weeks after Granit Xhaka was booed off at the Emirates by some sections of the Arsenal home crowd. Loud boos emanated from the stands match after match, the fury had reached fever pitch, eventually making Unai Emery’s position untenable.

And although Arteta has presided over some perilous moments – most notably the four consecutive home defeats in the 2020/21 season – he has remarkably managed to subdue the kind of tsunami of anger that would have conceivably sunk another manager at a top club. The absence of supporters in stadiums provided him with some respite.

The degradation of the squad, which was awash with older and overpaid players, has been arrested and replenished with younger, more exciting players, injecting hope and anticipation among a fanbase that was watching the club stray into irrelevancy.

The Emirates is now bouncing and a cauldron of noise. Gone are the days of the players playing with fear to avoid igniting the wrath of the frustrated fans. Now they play with freedom and less pressure, showered with support by a faithful fiercely loyal to their young players.

An atmosphere of tension has transformed into a positive arena, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe serenaded with their own songs. The players are inundated with praise. The joyful unity and celebrations between the fans and the players, for which some have criticised, is a sea change from years prior.

This, of course, is mostly attributable to Arsenal’s ascension, and results do ultimately dictate the mood of the fans, but heavy defeats, like the 4-0 collapse at Anfield in December, are no longer met with unrelenting anger. Arteta has impressively sold the fans on his project and instilled patience even after making some tough and often divisive decisions.

No matter one’s opinion on Arteta, and there are some critics still not sold on his ‘process’, how he has united the fanbase has been extraordinary. That unity needs to continue in the final stretch of the top four battle with the players needing that full-throated support to achieve Champions League football.