Give Arteta his dues because Arsenal are on the right track

Three games into the season, Arsenal was a club in turmoil, so much so that Mikel Arteta was on wafer-thin ice. COVID and injuries wreaked havoc on the Gunners’ early season performances.

However, the Spaniard stood fast and molded the side into being a competitive and a winning unit. Arsenal is a far cry from the team that started the campaign.

Having been the Gunners’ manager since 2019, it has been a slow burn. Much of the so-called deadwood was still at the club and playing games that many thought they didn’t deserve. Such was the want to turn the club’s fortunes around, many wanted to see a quick fix and get Arsenal back where they belong, in Europe.

Now, even the most die-hard Arsenal fan would have thought that last season and, to an extent, this season, Champions League football would be a step too far for this young side. Especially given the horrendous start.

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Give Mikel Arteta his dues because Arsenal are on the right track under a manager who has united and club and fanbase with a vision of the future

There have been naysayers who still want Arteta out as manager, but if you can’t see what the 40-year-old has done for Arsenal since he took over and where he’s taking the club, you mustn’t be watching close enough. While yes, there have been horrible stretches of performances since he took over, that happens with just about every manager. But he found ways to galvanize the squad to compete week in and week out.

That mentality doesn’t happen overnight, and one can argue that Arsenal has been weak mentally for the best part of the last decade. Crumbling under pressure and so often beaten before a ball has been kicked, especially against the big boys of the competition. Not now.

Despite their age demographic, the Gunners are now a side that can compete one-off with any side in the league, including Manchester City and Liverpool, both of which were pushed all the way by Arteta’s side this season (early season results aside).

Arteta has brought forth a system that benefits every player, and his ability to adjust on the fly has been remarkable. He hasn’t always got it right; it has gone wrong in some games, but that is football.

Slowly but surely we have seen that with the right players this system and brand of football that the Spaniard wants to implement is of the highest quality. His summer signings in Benjamin White and Aaron Ramsdale were laughed at when first announced. Now they are possibly in the top echelons of the league in their respective positions.

Let’s not forget Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has hit the ground running and looks to be Arsenal’s best right-back since, dare I say it, the days of Lauren and perhaps Bacary Sagna after him. Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga have shown their ability, but mistakes have started to creep in, which is forgiven on account of their age. This is without mentioning current Gunners captain Martin Odegaard: the signing of the season.

His vision, technical majesty, work rate, ability to manipulate defenses, and bring the best out of Bukayo Saka and other forwards is a sight to behold. Many had questions about Arteta’s signings,  yet now they are front and center of everything Arsenal does so well.

So, Arteta has picked the right players for his system, got the team to believe in what they are doing, and essentially rebuild on the fly. Just look at where the club is currently positioned in the league table. It’s working.

But he’s done so much as well. Signifcant challenges and obstacles and faced him and the club, and Arsenal have come out of the end looking stronger.

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Mikel Arteta Has Overcome So Many Obstacles

One of Arteta’s most significant challenges when he took over was moving on players who were not good enough and trimming the club’s astronomical wage budget. A fascinating stat arose recently to visualise the overhaul: only two players, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka started in the victory over Manchester United at the weekend and Arteta’s first-ever game in charge back in December of 2019.

The wage bill has been trimmed dramatically this season, cutting it from £157m at the start of the 2020/21 season to now just £87.2m at the time of writing. Together with the club it has cut in half in one season, even if it has required paying many to leave. Such was the standard inherited that there was precious little else to do. Arsenal was operating on a Champions League budget while not receiving the revenue of playing in Europe’s elite competition.

So, let’s look at some of the problems that Arteta had to solve when he became Arsenal manager:

• Clear the deadwood – almost done
• Decrease the crippling wage bill – big strides taken
• Solve the defensive fragilities – done
• Build a squad capable of challenging – on the right track

It was always going to be a long process, which he told the supporters. Trust in the process. Having been out of any hope of a European place at the start of the year to now have Champions League and not Europa League football within touching distance is an achievement, even if it’s far from secured. One mustn’t forget this has been done with a squad that needs two to three players to feel like a team that can challenge finally. Arsenal are going into games with Nketiah, Elneny and Cedric now, and still competing for fourth spot.

Whether Arsenal clinch Champions League football or not – it would be sensational if they do – Arteta and co’s work to turn around the stagnating club that the Gunners had become deserves plaudits.

Some still want him out, and that is fine, but look at where he has the club. From being in the doldrums of pity to now thinking the club can secure Champions League football. All in seven months, mind you. How can you not want to see more? The progression is there to see.

Regardless of personal opinion of the Gunners manager, one can’t argue that under his guidance, Arsenal has a superb and realistic chance to become closer the team it once was. With his management and brilliant football mind, coupled with generational players like Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, all that is needed is some carefully picked players in the summer to put the cherry on top of this Arsenal team that feels ready to become “Arsenal” again.

While the club is still a work in progress, give Arteta his dues. The man has completely turned the club around. It hasn’t been pretty at times, but what rebuild isn’t without hiccups? But we can see the forest through the trees now. We can see what Arteta’s vision for the club is.

Importantly, the supporters like it. There has never been a bond like this between the players and the fans across the Emirates era. Buckle up Arsenal fans as this next chapter will be fun, and we can thank Arteta for putting the club in this position.

Pundits and journalists alike stated at the beginning that Arteta should be given three summer windows to get his players in, and then to judge him. We are here and, now more than ever, Arsenal is not only on the right track under the 40-year-old’s guidance, but thriving.