Deciding that enough was enough, Arsenal chose to sack Unai Emery towards the end of 2019.
The Spaniard had failed to turn things around following Arsène Wenger’s exit in 2018, and so Mikel Arteta was appointed, leaving his job at Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s assistant.
His time at the Gunners has been a mixed bag to say the least, with fans calling for his dismissal a number of times, but the London side’s hierarchy seem to have a good amount of trust in the 39-year-old, which appears to be finally paying off.
Despite a tough start to the season, Arteta seems to have turned things around a bit, winning eight of their last 13 Premier League games, including the most recent 3-0 victory over Southampton.
This has pushed Arsenal back up to sixth in the table, with an ever important game against in-form West Ham on Wednesday.
He said: “Yes! I think it was a luxury for him to learn from Pep. I think he has everything to be a very good manager. For me, he needs time. Arsenal need to be patient with him. He has very precise ideas, very close to Pep’s. The way Pep works is contagious. Like him, he was formed at Barcelona. After that, Mikel has a lot less experience than Pep.
“Therefore, when the team has a few bad performances, some don’t hesitate to question his methods. That’s not the case with Pep, because he’s already proved everything. Mikel still needs to do that, with a group that isn’t very homogenous quality wise. Last summer, Arsenal spent a lot of money, but for me, that’s not qualitative enough. He has a tough task ahead of him, since he is in the most competitive league in the world”.
