Arsenal may have to make a big decision about Mikel Arteta if they fail to win the Premier League title
Arsenal may have to start thinking about a replacement for Mikel Arteta if the club fail to win the Premier League this season.
That's according to talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham, who believes that Arteta has a big job on his hands in this campaign.
The Gunners have been within touching distance of the Premier League title for the past two seasons but have been overtaken by Manchester City Both times.
Where they have made costly mistakes, Pep GuardiolaThe team has held firm on both occasions, allowing them to win a fourth consecutive league title last year.
Last season, Arsenal He led the party for no less than 248 days and seemed destined to win.
But a disastrous collapse saw them drop 15 points from their last nine games, eventually squandering a four-point lead over City.
And last season, Arsenal had started April eight points clear at the top of the table.
But three draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton, rounded off by a defeat to Manchester City, meant the race was no longer in their hands.
Since Arteta took over as manager in 2019 and returned to the club where he made 150 appearances as a player, he has led them to three trophies.
In its inaugural season, Arsenal lifted the FA Cup – and then went on to win the Community shield in 2020 and again in 2023.
But the Premier League has eluded them on each occasion, with the club finishing eighth in their first two seasons, then fifth in 2021/22, before finishing an agonising second in the last two seasons.
Durham is optimistic, however, that this season will be the one for them, although he warns that if they fail, drastic changes may be necessary.
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“I think Arsenal will win the title and I think if they don't, they'll probably need to look elsewhere for a manager,” he said.
“Because we can look at Arteta and keep talking about how he won the FA Cup in his first season. There's a bit of luck in that. And the FA Cup is not a sign of greatness.
“When we talk about sealing the title, they are on the brink, on the brink. But they have been there for two seasons now. They completely screwed up in that first season and last season, they had it in their hands.
“Manchester City kept winning relentlessly but Arsenal needed to do exactly the same to take the title and they didn't. They lost at home to Aston Villa. So I think they have to do something very, very special this season but I think that team is capable of doing it.
“The concern I have with Arteta is that all this… Things about pickpockets And all that, and we've seen the documentary and how intense it is in the dressing room. It's good to be that intense if you're Pep Guardiola and you're winning things season after season.
“But can those players maintain that level of intensity and withstand all that Arteta has to offer if he doesn't lead them to a major trophy? If it doesn't happen again this season, are they going to think something is wrong here? We can't keep giving it our all.”
With Guardiola's Manchester City likely to once again be Arsenal's main rivals, Durham also marvelled at how the Gunners have failed to take advantage given some of the transfers made in recent seasons.
“Last season, Manchester City sold Cole Palmer to Chelsea, who suddenly became a superstar,” he explained. “What they are doing this season is selling Alvarez to Atletico Madrid.”
“It's like Pep Guardiola saying 'I know what I'm going to do, I'm going to sell'. other One and see if Arsenal can win it.
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“He sold them (Gabriel) Jesus and (Oleksandr) Zinchenko, they can't win that. Then he got rid of Cole Palmer, and they can't win that either. He's going to get rid of Alvarez, can Arteta win that now?
“It's like I'm pulling their leg! But I honestly think this has to be Arsenal's year because City can't keep doing it, surely! I said it last year, surely they can't keep doing it. Arsenal are very, very good.
“It's fantastic to watch them play. If you've seen them in pre-season, I don't want to read too much into it, but Zinchenko's goal against Bayer Leverkusen was incredible. Not just the ending, but also the build-up, there are little moving figures everywhere. Leverkusen have no idea what's going on.”
