Struggling Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been given a huge endorsement by none other than Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
The Gunners’ head coach is in major trouble and defeat at home to Southampton tomorrow will prompt further concern in North London.
Arsenal are 15th in the Premier League table and have lost their last four games at the Emirates – their worst home record since 1959.
Even more worrying is the fact that the rookie Spaniard doesn’t look like he’s getting a tune out of his players any longer, despite leading them to an FA Cup title as recently as August.
The 38-year-old has been Arsenal boss for less than a year and already things are starting to turn sour, but Guardiola, Arteta’s mentor at Eastlands for three years, has insisted that the board in North London simply won’t find a better manager if they part company.
He said to The Sun: “I would say to the board at Arsenal, I do not have any doubts about his quality and capacity to put Arsenal in the place that they deserve to be.
“Arsenal couldn’t have a better manager to lead this club in this year and the next — nobody is better than him.
“He’s one of the best managers I’ve ever worked with and seen directly. For his personality and his commitment and his love for his club — because if it were not for the love of his club he would still be here.”
Guardiola clearly thinks the world of him. Then again, he worked with him at City and therefore he is perhaps a touch bias.
The reality is that although Arteta might be a brilliant coach, Arsenal’s results simply don’t reflect that theory right now and defeat by Southampton tomorrow could be the final nail.
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