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Five losses of their last six and just five points above the relegation zone – it’s fair to say Arsenal are on the ropes.
Sunday’s shocking loss at home to Burnley, the Emirates’ fourth on the run in the Premier League, means the Gunners have had their worst start to the season in the league in 46 years.
Mikel Arteta’s team languishes in 15th place and a team without confidence is also getting disappointed in the discipline department.
Granit Xhaka’s expulsion cost them dearly on Sunday as his smug grip on Ashley Westwood’s throat meant he saw red, this came just three weeks after Nicolas Pepe’s header against Leeds United.
In fact, it speaks volumes when you look as far back as the mid-1970s to see the last time Arsenal reached such low levels at home.
Back then, under the leadership of club legend Bertie Mee in the 1974-75 season, Arsenal had a 12-match winless streak in all competitions at the start of the campaign.
Ironically, that included a 1-0 home loss to Burnley as well as a 2-0 home loss to Tottenham in this season’s results.
The lowest point that year came 10 years later, when a 2-0 loss to Leeds at Elland Road meant they hit bottom of the old First Division.
Things changed from November, however, when a 3-1 win at table-leading Liverpool reignited the campaign for Mee and his stars, which included forward Charlie George, as well as Alan Ball and Liam Brady. .
Club legend Pat Rice, who ended his 56-year association with the club in the summer, was also part of the playing team as was Brian Kidd, who still works on Manchester City’s backroom team with Pep Guardiola.
But that victory at Anfield didn’t propel the Gunners to greater heights. From then on, results fluctuated and although they avoided relegation, it was only by four points, with Luton, Chelsea and Carlisle falling.
Of course, as is known, Arsenal have never been relegated, but the 1974-75 campaign was one of the times they came closest, finishing 16th in the table.
There was also no cup success to make up for the disappointment in the league, as they were eliminated in the FA Cup quarter-finals against West Ham and in the second round of the League Cup against Leicester.
So Mee faced the hit at the end of a below par season? Not quite, although he did not stay long at Highbury.
After 10 years that included the League title and the FA Cup, Mee resigned in 1976 as the most successful manager in club history, with 241 victories, a record since then surpassed by Arsene Wenger.
However, in modern times, patience is greatly weakened when it comes to low management.
Although Arteta has only one year on a three-year contract, the Spaniard needs to unleash a response on his side, soon.
The list of games is not far from child’s play either: they keep Southampton in shape on Wednesday night. Also, they won’t be fans within the Emirates, with London set to enter Level 3 restrictions.
The Gunners then travel to face Everton at Goodison, before playing Chelsea on Boxing Day; an EFL Cup quarter-final tie against Manchester City is between the two.
Something has to change soon, because Arteta will not have the same time as Mee 46 years ago. And if Arsenal aren’t careful, they may look back anxiously before they can begin to have upper-half aspirations.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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