Arsenal have finally won a Premier League game and things are looking up at the Emirates… Or are they?
The Gunners’ win at the weekend was somewhat unconvincing. They only beat Norwich, who are a side tipped for relegation, 1-0, and at the end of the day they’ve still only scored once in four games.
The crisis may be far from over, and if what Matt Le Tissier said last week is correct, this season could be a real slog.
“I can tell you from a contact inside the Arsenal camp. At Arsenal the problem isn’t the manager, the problem is all in the changing room from what I’m hearing,” Le Tissier said on the Where’s Jeff Podcast.
“There is a lot of disharmony in the changing room and that’s something which is very difficult for a manager.
“Even though it might be the players’ fault, we always know what happens when things goes wrong, and it’s always the manager who carries the can.”
If this information Le Tissier is relaying is accurate, It would seem as though the problems at Arsenal run a lot deeper than the manager, and that’s rather worrying.
So often the quick-fix for any club is to sack their manager and get someone else in, just look at Chelsea last season when Frank Lampard was replaced by Thomas Tuchel. However, it doesn’t sound as though this would have the desired effect at Arsenal as the issue is the playing staff rather than the gaffer.
The issues at the Emirates are seemingly amongst the players, the dressing room is split, and that’s not something that is as easily fixed as simply changing manager.
There seemingly needs to be a shift in attitudes and a squad overhaul, and that’s not something that can happen this season, barring an unprecedented amount of activity in the January transfer window.
Of course, there is an optimistic way of looking at this.
Le Tissier’s source’s update suggests that Arteta isn’t the problem, which is a sentiment the Arsenal board reportedly agree with.
Therefore the long-awaited Arteta revolution may eventually come, but sadly, it seems as though a period of major transition is needed, and this season may well be a write-off if the players at the club right now aren’t on the same page.
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