Mikel Arteta Dead Man Walking

Is Mikel Responsible for Everything wrong with Arsenal at the moment?

The North London Derby offered the gunners a chance for a fresh start and obviously bragging rights. Sitting 15th and with no wins since a 1-0 win at Old Trafford arsenal needed to turn up against their flourishing rivals . Well to say the least arsenal followed the script and played right into Jose's hands. Crisp counter attacks,spurs tore arsenal into bits .

No wins since start of November means Arsenal have had their worst ever start in the premier league. Flashback to 4 months ago everything was all rosy after the success of the FA Cup but now it's clear the honeymoon is over for Mikel Arteta and the fans are calling for his head (well majority of them).

So what has changed since August?

Two things are clear . Both are quite obvious and the stats back them up . No goals and no desire.Aubameyang hasn't scored a goal from open play since the opening day win against fulham . Worse arsenal has scored just 10 league goals tied with Son on the goals chart. This is something that Mikel knows and needs to address. He commented on this post match vs spurs:

Arteta on what Arsenal need to do

"By scoring goals, very simple. We need to score goals. If not, it's unsustainable. We need to put the ball in the net, urgently

It is also clear that the effort, desire and work rate has gradually reduced as the matches have gone by.  High pressing in fours was a common feature by arsenal under arteta and a great example is the 2-1 league win against Liverpool at the end of last season. Both goals came from Lacazette, Nelson and Pepe pressing the Liverpool defense into numerous mistakes that were capitalized upon. 

At the moment arsenal are a disjointed force especially from midfield going forward. The forward players are not making runs and even when they do they don't trust their midfield can provide the final pass.

Aubameyang suddenly seems lacking in confidence and his body Language does little to encourage the fans. Even the meagre chances he gets he seems a pale shadow of himself.

This is mirrored by majority of the senior players . Willian has done little to justify his huge wages, Bellerin has 3 bad games and 2 good ones , Holding should have gone on loan , Xhaka and ceballos always passing backwards and getting caught out , Lacazette for all his hard work cannot find consistency........ everything is one big mess.

Which begs the question:

So who is to blame ?

The obvious answer would be the manager , Mikel Arteta. That no matter how great you are in training or in media duties or how popular you are with your players , the main thing is that your job depends on results.

I'll point out a couple of things that stand out with me  about Mikel .

Mikel will always take responsibility, well some may argue that it's what he should do which is true but he overdoes it. When Mikel comes out and says he did not register Ozil for the squad for 'footballing reasons' while at the same time his team cannot create any clear-cut chances in front of goal it makes us as fans feel raging mad.

Why is he taking the bullet for the club? Everyone knows the Ozil situation so please Mikel spare us the PR.

When arteta comes out and says it's his responsibility to create the right conditions for his players on the pitch I ask myself don't you know you retired long ago? The players are the main actors and when they let you down say it Mikel!

The FA Cup win papered over cracks that are now beginning to show. Arsenal thought they could skip the rebuilding process but the results are there for all to see. 

Mikel like his predecessor Unai Emery is walking on a tight rope as a result of the same crop of players. Mikel improved a lot of these players on route to cup success but old habits die hard. It's hardly surprising that Arsenal's player of the season so far has been Gabriel .....majority of the old guard needed to be out of the club long ago.

Recruitment at the club has been poor for a while and it's showing. Scrapping the scouting system full of experience and brilliant eye for talent also doesn't help. Acquisitions of Cedric, Luiz ,Willian , Mari ,Kolasinac ,Xhaka amongst others were done without considering the players characteristics and how they would fit in the team. Prime example is Granit Xhaka who is a good passer of the ball but lacks in strength and pace to play in the premier league with so much intensity coupled up with arsenal fragilities in both midfield and defense. Luiz was bought knowing his hot head while in a back two. Overpaying for Nicholas Pepe was another mistake. These continuous blunders have cost Arsenal on the pitch. Lacking in players to play a certain style that the coach wants. The club never really replaced Ramsey Cazorla nor Rosicky.

In this rocky period at the club many will forget Mikel has changed the tactics not once when things need to be changed.

Like for instance , when Mikel arrived and had no senior LB he had to play Saka . Knowing that Saka was more of an attack minded player he played Xhaka as more of a cover when Saka bombed forward. This led to Saka flourishing and putting his mark on the team.

Case two . After defeat to Leicester in the league Mikel opted for a back 3 that could help him solidify the team. This worked extremely well and helped the team win the FA CUP despite a tough route.

These instances gives me assurances that Mikel has the ability to change things when needed. 

In hiring Mikel the arsenal hierarchy found a safe option. A young ambitious coach that likes to work with young players. It was beneficial both long-term( if it worked out) and financially . A young tame manager who would not grab the board by the throat and make demands. 

In as much as Mikel has great plans for this football club he may not last long  enough to implement them. He improved a majority of them as much as he could but it's now clear that it's not good enough. It's sad that many of these players who are not good enough may outlast him just because of the club not being ruthless enough.

These same group of players cost Wenger and Emery the job and  ultimately might do the same to Mikel. Unless something drastic happens. But one thing is clear , chopping and changing the managers is not the solution because the problem lies deeper . 

As Emery pointed out in an interview with the Guardian:

“In Baku Chelsea were better, I accept that. In the second half Eden Hazard made the difference. Preparations were good and everyone was committed. But some players had a mentality that says one day ‘yes’, one day ‘no’, when in football it has to be ‘yes’, ‘yes’, ‘yes’ every day. We lacked that little extra to get through a lot of games in those final weeks. If your application and commitment falls below 100%, you can lose, and that’s what happened.

Poor leadership is written all over arsenal. laying off 55 workers ( then offering Willian a bumper contract) is no way to go for any club.

Unresolved issues with Ozil will continue to haunt the club. Burst ups in  training like Luiz and ceballos , these small issues are as a result of bigger problems at the club.

Getting rid of the manager is one option but long-term it does very little to help. Persist with Mikel and give him funds to spend in January and let him build his own team. Ruthlessness Is needed at the club or has been needed for years.

It's going to be a long season for Arsenal but if that's what it will take for the club to wake up then I'll endure it all! Back Mikel in January Arsenal!