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This Saturday marks the first anniversary of Mikel Arteta’s appointment at Arsenal. It has been a year of ups and downs. Few could have predicted that his team would rank 15th in the Premier League table just four months after winning the FA Cup.
But it was never easy to transform Arsenal’s fortunes, least of all for a 38-year-old with no prior management experience. Arteta inherited a club in chaos and a squad that needed to rebuild. He has had to deal with problems both on and off the field.
Arsenal is still a long way from where he wants. In fact, the Premier League table suggests that they are further away than ever. So how did they get here? And is there a better future ahead?
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The victory in the FA Cup raised expectations
Of course, it is to Arteta’s immense credit that she was able to earn silverware only a few months after the job started. Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph in August, achieved with impressive victories over Manchester City and Chelsea, generated enthusiasm and optimism among fans.
There was more positivity when Arsenal beat Liverpool on their return to Wembley for the Community Shield. They then started the Premier League campaign with three wins out of four. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang agreed to a new contract. The club completed a £ 45 million deal to sign Thomas Partey.
Expectations were raised. Arsenal had limped to eighth the previous season, but felt they might have a chance to compete for a top-four finish in Arteta’s first full season in charge. Arsene Wenger suggested rather futilely that they might even win the title.
Soon, however, the optimism began to fade.
The victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford last month was another sign of progress, but there were losses to Manchester City and Leicester before and there have been four more since then. They join Arsenal’s worst start to the season since 1974.
In truth, the underlying numbers in Arsenal’s performances were always ominous.
Arteta improved results against rivals from the Big Six. He introduced structure to the field and brought clarity, with players lining up to praise him. But the fundamentals of generating scoring chances at one end and preventing them at the other remained problematic.
Throughout his 12 months in charge, Arsenal have consistently ranked in the bottom half of the Premier League in both shots and expected goals. In addition to the deficiencies they attack, there is an enduring defensive vulnerability. Only Sheffield United, West Ham and Newcastle have worse numbers of expected goals against.
Arteta’s team was able to challenge that data thanks in part to the ruthlessness of Aubameyang, who scored 16 goals in 22 appearances under the Spaniard last season, despite poor service, and the waste of spikes from his opponents in the other. end of the field.
But there was always the suspicion that it was unsustainable and that is how it turned out.
Aubameyang’s goals dried up and Arsenal’s rivals began to seize their opportunities. Now, instead of beating the xG data, the Gunners are scoring fewer goals than expected and conceding more. It is a regression towards the mean and inevitably the results have suffered.
Equipment review still required
Many of the senior players now underperforming are the same as Unai Emery and Arsene Wenger. The coach’s challenge is to get the best out of them, but the team requires a review if Arsenal want to break the cycle of recent seasons.
Arteta is paying the price for bad decisions made long before his appointment, but he is not without blame. His loyalty to certain people, including Granit Xhaka, seems out of place, enraging fans and blocking the way for other players.
While some have been pleased, others, such as Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, have been discarded.
Arteta’s efforts to change the culture at the club are to be applauded. But the way he’s done it invites scrutiny. After all, freezing veteran players who still have influence in the locker room doesn’t lead to a positive atmosphere.
Player turnover has been too slow.
Of the 11 starters and seven substitutes who participated in Arteta’s first game in charge, a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Boxing Day last year, all but four remain with the club. And of the four who are not, Emi Martínez, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Konstantinos Mavropanos, three are only on loan.
Arteta has had to deal with players he can’t change, but his own recruiting record is spotty.
Gabriel Magalhaes and Partey seem like good additions that Arsenal will be able to build in the future. But Arteta also pushed for the signings of Willian and Cedric Soares, agreeing to give them contracts that will take them up to 34 and 33 years respectively. Willian is off to an unfavorable start, while Cedric has only played five Premier League minutes all season.
They are decisions that can put Arsenal back in the same uncomfortable situation they are in now.
Arteta hopes to carry out a selection of unwanted senior players at the end of this season, with Ozil and Sokratis among those reaching the end of their contracts. But it’s just as important that he and the club’s decision makers bring in the right signings to replace them.
There are no quick fixes for Arteta
Arteta spoke about Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Southampton on Wednesday as a possible turning point for his team. But if his first year at the helm has taught us anything, it is that there will be no quick fixes for Arsenal’s old problems. It will take time to solve them.
His recent form has put Arteta under pressure and more setbacks are likely to come, but the club is fully committed to him. His job title change in September from head coach to manager was significant. He extended his influence beyond the training ground. The club’s executive team was streamlined to accommodate him.
Abandoning the project now would make little sense for a club that desperately needs some stability. And furthermore, for all the problems that Arteta has encountered during his tenure thus far, there have also been many positives.
Winning a trophy under such difficult circumstances last season was a fantastic achievement. And while his confidence levels may have fallen lately, there’s no question that players see Arteta’s managerial potential. The consensus as recent as a few months ago was that he was destined to become one of the best in the world.
He has taken on a great challenge as his first job, but is also well regarded outside the club.
Pep Guardiola, his mentor at Manchester City, continues to defend him. There was rave praise for José Mourinho after the recent North London derby. Marcelo Bielsa, for his part, has spoken of his tactical acumen. “If you look at Arsenal closely, they show things that I have never seen in any other team,” he said last month.
Of course, those words of praise will count for little if Arsenal are drawn into a relegation battle. But Arteta deserves time to change things. It will only be fair to judge you when you have reviewed the equipment and rebuilt a side that looks more like yours. The challenge now is to get ahead until then.
Alan Smith: Arsenal stumble in the dark, but Arteta needs time to tackle deep issues
Alan Smith of Sky Sports on the Pitch to Post Preview Podcast …
Arteta proved his credentials at Manchester City with Pep Guardiola, but being a manager is something very different. He entered as a coach, now he is the coach, which makes the difference, perhaps it is not the smartest move for Arsenal, he has had to learn standing up.
He has encountered many problems. There was a lot behind the scenes to repair. It had been a long-standing situation, dating back to the Arsene Wenger years. I think people weren’t responsible enough, habits had gotten a bit sloppy, there wasn’t a winning mentality there, and Unai Emery couldn’t instill that. He had this communication problem and lost the faith of the players, and when that happens, there will only be one way it will end.
Arteta, at the moment, is struggling to keep the faith of some players, I think there is one or two behind him saying why he does this, why he does that, we are not sure he is up to the job. And you have to deal with it. You have to deal with it and show your authority. It is not easy for a novice coach.
They have to stick with it. It’s difficult because Arsenal don’t have a lot of money. They have to be creative in the transfer market to deliver that team, and the team does need a change. It’s going to be a long-standing thing. The FA Cup gave him some credit in the bank and some of those performances late last year, and I know they have a tough match roster on the way, hopefully they can get back into that organization, hard that way. , brave stamina he instilled to beat Manchester City and Chelsea to win the FA Cup.
Right now they are stumbling in the dark, but he is a good coach and needs time to deliver what he wants on that training ground and on the court.
Watch Everton vs Arsenal live on Sky Sports Premier League HD from 5pm on Saturday; The start is at 5.30 pm
Preview from launch to publication: evaluation of the early years of Ancelotti and Arteta; Plus the latest from Gareth Bale and Dele Alli, and why Leeds could cause trouble for Man Utd
This week on the Pitch to Post preview podcast, Peter blacksmith joins Sky Sports News reporter Alan Myers and Sky Sports expert Alan blacksmith analyze Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta’s work in Everton and Arsenal, before their one-year anniversaries.
Who has done a better job? We also heard from the SSN reporter Paul Gilmour yes Tottenham will bounce back from a frustrating week against Leicester, and the latest in Gareth Bale’s fitness and his All is future.
Plus Sky Sports Feature Writer Nick Wright evaluates Man Utd’s 3-2 win on Sheffield United and makes his pitch why Leeds could upset Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team at Old Trafford …
Listen to the launch of Sky Sports to publish the podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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