ClapEver since 2019, Mikel Arteta has been the manager of Arsenal Football Club. In that time he’s helped guide them to FA Cup glory, a victory in the Community Shield, and has won the Manager of the Month award twice in the Premier League.
While all of those accomplishments are nice in their own right, we still think – alongside plenty of other Arsenal supporters – that he could be doing more.
The Spaniard has put a lot of the right pieces in place for the club, and the squad in particular, to succeed. Unfortunately, he still has yet to figure out how to solve the “spine” issue that they’ve been handicapped by for so many years now.
It’s not a case of figuring out how to fix the spine of the squad, but instead, it’s more focused on their inability to see things through.
The best example comes from their pursuit of Champions League football and a place in the top four which, once again, they allowed to slip through their fingers.
This young team just allowed the weight of the occasion to get on top of them and that’s something Arteta simply can’t allow to happen anymore.
It feels as if there’s going to be some added scrutiny ahead in the months to come, and one of the reasons for that is the release of the All or Nothing series.
Mikel Arteta can manage the team however he pleases but with the eyes of the football world being set to gaze upon his work, you’d have to think he’s going to be in the spotlight a bit more so than usual.
Then, we turn our attention to the summer transfer window, with the gaffer attempting to strengthen the squad ahead of a campaign that’ll include a return to Europe in the form of the Europa League.
Matt Turner, Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira have all come through the front door which is a tremendous start, and when you put the imminent signing of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City alongside them, we’d argue this is the best start to a transfer window the Gunners have had in years.
Now, it’s about ensuring they have the same kind of chemistry on the pitch.
There shouldn’t be any more big questions raised about squad depth once the window is over (especially how things are going thus far). So, even if a few niggles come out of the World Cup this winter, there can’t be any excuses.
The first game of the season is going to come against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park which serves as a huge opportunity for the club to make a statement.
From there, Arteta needs to take a look at three competitions and one specific target as his goals for the season: the FA Cup, League Cup, Europa League and fourth place.
A piece of silverware, alongside qualifying for the Champions League again, is the only way in which we can see Arteta getting out of the next year or so unscathed.
Perhaps he only needs to finish fourth but either way, the pressure. is on.
