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Mikel Arteta is under increasing pressure after Arsenal fell to a fourth straight loss at home to Burnley, leaving them 15th in the top flight and with one win in their last eight Premier League matches.
Although Arteta’s work is not believed to be in jeopardy at this time, Arsenal are in a spiral from which it becomes increasingly difficult to escape with each damaging outcome. Indiscipline is a particular problem and they unraveled against Burnley when Granit Xhaka was fired shortly before the hour for grabbing Ashley Westwood’s throat. An own goal by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Burnley the points and Arteta was left at the mercy of Xhaka’s indiscretion.
“Same word,” he said when asked if he would describe his midfielder’s actions as “unacceptable”, which was the term he used after Nicolas Pépé was sent off for his own act of violent conduct in Leeds last month. “And in these conditions even worse. [In] the conditions we find ourselves in when we don’t win football matches is even worse ”.
Arteta seemed willing to let Xhaka go lightly in public, suggesting that he had been too excited to get Arsenal’s season back on track. “Honestly, I think it is unacceptable to do that action and the players are at a time when they are so willing to do more, to fight more, to show how committed they are, to be alive in the games,” he said. “This time Granit has overstepped.”
Presumably Arteta has been fuming in private and indicated that he hopes Xhaka will face his mistake in the dressing room, admitting that the red card “cost us” and that his side was “hurt”.
He also addressed an incident involving Mohamed Elneny, just before the winning goal, in which the Egyptian was lucky enough not to follow Xhaka through the tunnel after pushing James Tarkowski. “It seems similar and we cannot make that mistake because that is the wrong approach to what we are trying to do,” he said.
Arsenal have scored two goals in those eight winless games, an Aubameyang penalty at Old Trafford and a Gabriel Magalhães penalty after a corner kick against Wolves, but Arteta does not think his team is playing as potential relegation candidates.
“A team that is struggling, we don’t normally see the game as they did today, and with the way they played against the Spurs. [a week ago], “he said.” We gave the opponent a chance and he scored, and it’s about winning soccer games. “
Arteta’s rival Sean Dyche believed Arsenal should have been reduced to nine men, but praised his team’s first road win of the campaign. “Xhaka is being expelled, I don’t know how Elneny won’t do it,” he said. “The performance was based on what we’ve done so many times – that unity force to work for each other and then find the right margins.”
Arsenal will face a swift return to the Emirates on Wednesday when they face an upbeat Southampton. Arteta will receive Pépé from suspension, but Xhaka will miss the first of his three games.
