Mikel Arteta is under massive pressure at Arsenal.
Under the rookie Spaniard, the Gunners have lost their first three Premier League games of the season, culminating in their worst-ever start to a campaign because in addition to losing all three, they’ve also scored zero and shipped nine.
Failing to beat newly-promoted Norwich City at the Emirates Stadium next weekend would make it even harder for the 39-year-old to stay at Arsenal.
The Telegraph reported last month that the North Londoners’ hierarchy have already began drawing up potential replacements and that a move for Antonio Conte was ‘likely’ if things get worse, which they have done since that report broke.
But Tony Cascarino has another, slightly less-fashionable name in mind: Big Sam.
According to Cascarino, Allardyce, who is out of the job right now, would make Arsenal ‘way better’ irrespective of the style of play that gets him tarred with with a certain type of brush among the purists of English football.
He told talkSPORT: “I think we stereotype certain managers who couldn’t do a job. We’ve kind of gone to the coaching mindset now. If you look at what he did for West Brom, okay they went down, but look at what he did for them defensively.
“He’d make Arsenal way better. I think Sam would undoubtedly do a better job than Arteta is doing at the moment.”
Context
The former Republic of Ireland hitman claims that Allardyce would improve Arsenal defensively, but Arteta already has.
Ignoring the 5-0 defeat by Manchester City last weekend, in which the Gunners were missing their best two centre-backs, Arteta’s side had the third-best defence in the Premier League last season.
They finished eighth because the former City assistant couldn’t get them firing at the other end, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who reached the 50-goal barrier for Arsenal in quicker time than Thierry Henry, only managinng 15 in all competitions.
And Allardyce isn’t your guy if your overriding problem is scoring goals, which it always has been under Arteta.
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