Well, Mikel Arteta may not be losing his job as Arsenal manager after all.
Arteta’s position is coming under massive scrutiny following Arsenal’s elimination from the Europa League semi-finals by Villarreal on Thursday night.
To make matters worse, it was former Gunners boss Unai Emery who orchestrated his old club’s downfall, masterminding a 2-1 aggregate win over the Emirates Stadium club.
With Arsenal ninth in the Premier League and on course for their worst season in 26 years, Arteta’s position has been called into question.
David Ornstein of The Athletic claimed on Sky Sports News yesterday that he hadn’t heard of the Spaniard being in any imminent danger.
And The Sun have reiterated that, but they add that the Gunners will sack the former Manchester City assistant at the end of 2021 if they are still a mid-table Premier League club.
The report adds that owner Stan Kroenke remains ‘convinced’ that Arteta is the right man to inspire change in North London.
Thing is, it’s very unlikely that Kroenke has any view on Arteta – good or bad – as a football manager.
The American billionaire is known for his hands-off approach to running Arsenal and therefore he isn’t going to be well versed over the sport in general, let alone whether Arteta is going to turn this around.
And he might, but it’s worth remembering that he’s only had one full season of senior management under his belt and although this can get better, it can also get a lot worse.
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