Mikel Arteta, another potential “Yes-man” for Arsenal

So Arsene Wenger has finally announced that he will step down from his long-standing position as Arsenal manager at the end of the season.

The Frenchman is one of the greatest managers in Premier League history and he’s taken a lot of stick in recent years, especially from his own supporters. They largely respect everything he has done for the Gunners but perhaps understandably want a change.

He has managed the club for 22 years, a hell of a long time! He did a fantastic job overall and earnt the right to be the clubs long term manager.

Over time, Arsenal have become less and less successful. It has reached a point where it has gotten out of hand. The club failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, something that Arsenal over the years simply has not failed to do and unless they win this season’s Europa League then they’ll have failed two years consecutively.

When they have qualified, Arsenal have failed to impress in recent times and the European Cup has long evaded the North-London club, nor does it look like they are anywhere near changing that.

The best Arsenal have been able to hope for is FA Cup triumph, which is of course a prestigious domestic trophy to win but it’s just not enough.

The truth is, Arsene Wenger has outstayed his welcome at Arsenal Football Club and this has been the case for far too long. However, Arsenal must not risk making the same mistake as Manchester United did with Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in appointing a manager who has never managed at the very top before as United faced a sudden decline and are still recovering today.

Sky Sports are reporting that Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis is keen to see former club captain Mikel Arteta take the Gunners forward. Arteta, 36, is currently working as joint assistant coach to Pep Guardiola with Premier League champions Manchester City and away from that has very little experience.

I can’t help but feel this is the Arsenal board’s doing in wanting another ‘yes’ man.

Arsene Wenger was a ‘yes’ man. He managed the club through thick and thin, never complaining about the transfer budget or the sale of high profile players; he kept his head down and carried on working.

One could argue in Wenger’s defence that it was surprising he kept them in the top four for as long as he had done with the lack of ambition from the owners in terms of on the pitch performances and rewards.

Building a new stadium just isn’t enough, you must be emotionally invested in the performance of the football club on every scale and you don’t get the feeling there are many high-ups at Arsenal that really care a great deal about the footballing side of things. Heck, one board member was even quoted as saying the club didn’t need to win football matches.

I worry not for Arsenal Football Club, but for its fans. The ones that pay their hard-earned money to watch their team play week in, week out, some of them travelling up and down the country for away games every fortnight.

The appointment of Mikel Arteta would not represent the change that Arsenal fans want, I’m not sure it’d represent much change at all. It just screams the club will be run no differently behind the scenes. New face, same system.

A big-name appointment, like Massimiliano Allegri (as I’ve previously written about), would send out a statement of intent and surely suggest the club are willing to spend a lot more than they currently do.

 

Written by Jordan Hackett

Follow Jordan on Twitter @Devildart180

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