Pundit Simon Jordan has said that as brilliant as Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is, he could just be a nearly-man, as he seems to think after his side have effectively lost the Premier League title to Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s side are in need of a single win from their remaining three games to be crowned the champions of England for the third year in a row.
As Arsenal relinquished their lead in the Premier League title race in shock fashion, pundit Simon Jordan has now questioned Mikel Arteta.
Arteta questioned as Arsenal effectively come second in Premier League title race
Throughout the season, the £96,000-a-week (Mirror) has been lauded for somehow making the Gunners title challengers.
However, the manner in which Arteta and Co. stumbled in games against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton has been called into question.
After Arsenal were hammered 3-0 by Brighton on Sunday, pundit Simon Jordan said he doubts whether Mikel Arteta has it in him to win a Premier League title.
“I also worry, to use a Graeme Souness-ism that Arteta is a son-in-law. I’m not sure he has this particular gear in those narrowing of the eyes that concentrates players’ minds to get them to the next level, because something was lost, it wasn’t just [William] Saliba that didn’t get you past those games”, he said on talkSPORT.
Pundit Simon Jordan went on to say that Arteta still has to prove that he is ready to win a Premier League title, saying, “Yes, absolutely. There’s this perspective that maybe he’s going to cut his cloth at Arsenal and end up in the dugout at Manchester City. And maybe he will. I don’t know. First of all, well done on finishing second in the league. Not so well done on stealing defeat from the jaws of victory. The third part of the equation is, are they going to build on it? Is the next step to win the league? And I don’t think it is.”
HITC View: Reductive from pundit Simon Jordan about Mikel Arteta
There is no disputing that as incredible a job as Mikel Arteta has done, pundit Simon Jordan is right in saying that Arsenal made a meal of their Premier League title challenge.
While it should have been job done, the Spaniard and his side have only been in this position for a season.
Over time, perhaps they could go on to bring glory back to the Emirates Stadium.
Or, perhaps not if Pep Guardiola not only continues to dominate but extends his contract to further maintain his stranglehold on English football.
However, to simply claim that Arteta is the bridesmaid and not the bride based on a single campaign is quite reductive.
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