David Ornstein has revealed that although the Arsenal board is ‘wholeheartedly’ behind Mikel Arteta, he knows of some managers who would ‘love’ the job in North London.
The Gunners’ season took another turn for the worst on Sunday when Arteta oversaw a 2-0 defeat by local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
As a result, Arsenal slipped to 15th in the Premier League table and they are realistically just one more defeat away from being in a relegation scrap by Christmas time.
There is pressure mounting on the rookie Spanish manager – who was appointed last December – in spite of the fact he led them to FA Cup glory in August.
But Ornstein, who writes for The Athletic, has claimed on the publication’s YouTube channel that the 38-year-old still has the confidence of the club’s hierarchy – but that other coaches would absolutely be interested if Arteta were to leave.
He said: “I’m sure Mikel Arteta has made plenty of mistakes but he did also inherit a lot of problems from the Emery era and also the end of Arsene Wenger’s reign.
“This is one the most coveted positions in world football and I know of managers and coaches who would love to take over at Arsenal. But the club is backing Arteta wholeheartedly and they believe he will dig them out of the current situation they’re in.”
Arteta may have the board’s support for now, but things can change quickly in football and if Arsenal enter 2021 with the slightest chance of being relegated then surely owner Stan Kroenke needs to act.
The fact that we’re even talking about relegation for Arsenal after 11 Premier League games is a damning indictment of how far away they are from being good enough to qualify for the Champions League again.
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