Talks begin between Arsenal and Mikel Arteta for the manager job. But is he the right choice?
Arsenal may have found their man as talks between the club and Mikel Arteta have gone underway.
According to The Guardian, Vinai Venkatesham, the club’s chief executive, and Huss Fahmy, director of football operations, were pictured getting into a car outside Arteta’s home in Manchester.
In that same report, Freddie Ljungberg, the current caretaker manager, said that the club needs to make a decision so that they can “have the same resources as other clubs.”
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Ljungberg was appointed interim manager when Unai Emery was let go but has fared no better than his predecessor. During his tenure, Arsenal have only won one match and are coming off a 3-0 loss against Manchester City.
Arteta is currently part of Pep Guardiola‘s set-up at Manchester City and according to Sky Sports, City officials have asked Arteta to put an end to the speculation one way or another.
All signs point to the former Everton and Arsenal becoming the next manager or at the very least being the favourite on the list. Should his appointment be confirmed, the question then becomes whether he is the right fit or not.
He’s only a few years removed from being an active player but he’s spent that time learning what it takes to become a manager and learning from arguably the game’s best manager in Pep Guardiola.
Still, the inexperience is something that will be used as a point against him. Both he and Arsenal would be taking a risk.
Arteta would be jumping head-first into a high-profile job and if he does not surround himself with competent people around him, the experience may overwhelm him. Also, no one knows exactly what style he would want his teams to play.
The assumption is that he would implement a possession-based system like the one at City. But what if that’s not the case?
He’s spent two seasons under Guardiola but what’s to say he doesn’t try to implement a style that’s different?
One would hope that these are questions that have been asked by club executives and that the answers he gave were consistent with the direction they want Arsenal to go.
As we say in the loss to Manchester City, the Gunners’ problem runs deeper than just the manager. The deterioration of the club runs all the way to management. None of the issues surrounding Arsene Wenger have been fixed.
If Arteta does take the job, they need to clean house. Players will need to be moved on and new players will need to be bought that fit Arteta’s style of play.
Despite splashing the cash the last few transfer windows, those acquisitions have yet to fully pay dividends.
Whoever the new manager is, needs to be well-supported by the club both in the transfer market and the way the club is set up.
Arsenal’s next managerial appointment needs to be the right one. They cannot afford another debacle as they try to crawl back into relevancy both in England and in Europe.
As for Arteta, if he is the chosen one, all eyes will be on him to see if he has what it takes and what he learned while at City. The last thing he wants is to stumble right out of the gate.