Ally McCoist has likened Mikel Arteta’s current situation at Arsenal to that of Jurgen Klopp’s at Liverpool.
The Spaniard is under fire with the Gunners having won just one of their last five league games following a 0-0 draw away to Leeds United.
In an interview with talkSPORT, the Scottish footballing legend claimed that the former Rangers midfielder is a victim of his FA Cup success and urged the club to put faith in the young coach.
McCoist said: “You just have to point at Klopp and the way they’ve looked after him at Liverpool. They’ve stood by their man because it was not an overnight success. They gave him time, it was a four or five-year project and look at him now.”
“Listen, I think the problem, and I use the word problem but not sure it’s the right word, the thing about Arteta is that he had a brilliant start. He obviously won the FA Cup and they were flying for a period towards the end of last season. Everyone expected it to carry on again.” (via talkSPORT)
Should Arsenal sack Arteta?
Yes
No
It’s a fair analysis on the current predicament the Gunners find themselves in. The honeymoon period was never going to last for the entirety of Arteta’s reign in charge, however, the former Manchester City coach must work quickly to find solutions for current issues.
Whilst struggle is expected, as per McCoist, the problems need to be fixed so that they don’t become a regular occurrence for the north London outfit. Take Liverpool for example, prior to Virgil van Dijk’s arrival at the club, basic defending was an issue especially at centre-back. However, his arrival has made the Merseysiders one of the best defensive sides in Europe.
Right now, the Reds are struggling to create chances in the final third, the problem is quite evident with Arsenal having gone five league games without a goal from open play. They’ve been linked with likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Christian Eriksen, both of whom could potentially do a ‘van Dijk’ due to the numerous star attackers already at the club.
Arteta’s early success laid down impossible targets from some sections of the Emirates Stadium faithful. To expect the Spaniard’s good run of form to continue forever was never going to happen and he must retain the faith of the powers at be within the outfit to be able to complete his project.
In other news, Arsenal have been linked with a move for a Premier League midfielder.
