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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is under enormous pressure as his side languishes in 15th place in the Premier League table ahead of tomorrow’s showdown with Chelsea. Club legend Paul Merson believes his team is in a serious relegation battle and that falling to the Championship is a great risk.
Calls have been received from sectors of the fans to fire Arteta before it is too late.
Former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is currently out of contract and would be an ideal replacement, as if former Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino.
However, Merson fears that the Arsenal leadership may not be able to convince a manager of his caliber to take over the job.
“Arsenal are facing a relegation battle,” Merson wrote in his column for the Daily Star. “But it’s all very well to say that Mikel Arteta’s time is up, who could replace him?
“I don’t see the best coaches in the world lining up to take over because they know Arsenal are not going to win the league anytime soon.
“I don’t know why it went so bad. They beat Manchester United at Old Trafford not long ago. There doesn’t seem to be harmony there.
“They give away goals cheaply and their confidence skyrockets. There is no way they will beat Chelsea today.
“Then they have to go to Brighton and West Brom. Well, West Brom will be tough to beat, and Brighton is soon going to beat someone up.
“Arteta says they have had bad luck. How? The teams are no longer afraid of them.
“Do you remember when Willian joined because Arteta said they would win the Champions League in three years?” Merson added
“Arteta probably believed it at the time because they had won the FA Cup and just beat Chelsea and Manchester City.
“But I saw them against City this week and you KNEW they couldn’t win. Even when they scored, you knew there was another team or two at City.
“If you win the game, you have every chance of winning the trophy. But from the beginning they just sat down and barely touched the ball for two minutes.
“At the moment, they just don’t seem to win football games.”
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