Arsenal’s humbling visit to Newcastle that saw them exit the Carabao Cup has launched an array of questions – many valid, many amusing – at Mikel Arteta.
Yet four days ago they dismantled the reigning champions. Last season Arsenal achieved their second highest points total in Premier League history, and even when littered with injuries throughout this season, league leaders Liverpool remain very much within reach.
So why after a defeat in the League Cup are people so quick to call for his head?
Worthy of Praise
An astute point made by Clive Palmer on ‘The Ripple Effect’ podcast was that while people have been quick to jump on Arteta when Arsenal have had results go against them this season, it has perhaps been his best season so far as Arsenal coach – from a ‘quality of management’ standpoint at least.
Having fielded over a dozen defensive combinations in the Premier League alone, being forced to adapt with injuries to midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, and thinking through availability crises in attacking areas while introducing a brilliant influx of young talent to the squad, Arteta has constantly been firefighting in an effort to ensure his team can play the way he wants them to.
He has been forced to play Thomas Partey at right-back and tried to make it work, has improvised with how he sets up Arsenal to play their typical 2-3-2-3 in possession – in a way that closely mimics how Pep Guardiola has negotiated some of Manchester City’s injury issues over the years.
To be working with a squad that at one point this season only had thirteen first-team players available for selection, and to have them just six points off the top of the Premier League, is unquestionably commendable.
The Fair Critiques
Many social media comments about the Arteta are made in jest: posts from rival fans or from Arsenal accounts who care more about online engagement than their results. But amidst the sea of waffle there are a series of pertinent questions directed towards the Gunners – and specifically Arteta.
Can they do it when it counts?
Perhaps the most valid criticism of Arteta’s Arsenal has been their apparent inability to ‘get over the line’ in big moments.
Back in 2021/22, when the Emirates was coming together after some dark times and the ‘Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe’ chant was at its peak, Arsenal had played themselves into becoming favourites to finish in the Premier League top four.
Yet back to back losses in game 36 and 37 quickly curtailed these hopes. An embarrassing 3-0 defeat away at Tottenham, followed four days later by a 2-0 at St James’ Park – which has apparently become a familiar story for the Gunners. It left Arsenal languishing in fifth and without Champions League football.
Having progressed into mounting a genuine title challenge against Manchester City the following season, Arsenal’s title hopes were squandered at almost the final hurdle – suffering a 3-0 defeat at home to Brighton to more or less hand City their third successive Premier League win.
Then came 2023/24, which saw Arsenal break an array of club records: most goals conceded in a league season and least conceded in a league season among them. A dark December saw them lost successive games to West Ham and Fulham, which looked to have derailed their title hopes.
But they took 49 points from a possible 54 across their last 18 league games – drawing 0-0 away at City and losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa in mid-April. They won every other game, a run which was agonizingly close to being worthy of a league title.
| Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Points Accumulated |
| 52 | 9 | 49 |
This time around they won their final five games and took the title to the final day, but fell just two points short. Eyes immediately looked back at the Villa game as the moment the title evaded Arsenal – they had come close, but had nothing to show for it yet again.
This time around it’s defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup Semi-Final that has raised the same question of Arteta again.
Across the two legs, Arsenal put up 4.79 expected goals (xG), to Newcastle’s 3.34 – yet they ran out 4-0 losers on aggregate.
It must have left Arteta scratching his head, doubting his own ability to some extent – he’s only human.
To have put half a decade into rebuilding a football club just to have people claim that you’re not fit for the job off the back of the odd bad result and three years of competing with footballing Goliaths in City and Liverpool must be incredibly frustrating.
But so far, Arteta hasn’t proven his ability to get the most out of his players when he most needs it – the nature of the second leg against Newcastle was evidence of that, his players were absolutely taken to pieces from the outset.
Perhaps for the Spaniard it is a matter of progressing slowly, and it does appear that his recipe for success has improved season upon season – it’s just a matter of it all coming together when the time is right.
Why didn’t they sign a striker?
Arteta was very vocal about Arsenal’s need for reinforcements in attacking areas: “it’s clear that we were short already… and now we’re even shorter”, especially in lieu of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus being injured for extended periods and Gabriel Martinelli picking up a knock yesterday.
But with the transfer window closing without any Arsenal activity, it’s very clear that Arsenal are wary of making signings which could compromise their long-term plans.
While they could have pushed for Ollie Watkins and acquired the 29-year-old for a premium fee in the hopes that it might improve their title chances this season, it could equally have backfired and left them devoid of resources to invest in the squad come the summer.
Upon comparing Premier League winning squads of recent years (and the current Liverpool side), they consistently have 15-20 solid first-team options, allowing players to share minutes effectively and to mitigate any injury issues that occur. Arsenal are undoubtedly still 2-3 players shy of this, especially in forward positions.
It could be claimed that Arteta is just two players away from bringing the Premier League to the Emirates – and some fans genuinely believe the time is right for him to leave.
Over-Celebrating and Under-Achieving?
It does feel at times like Arsenal are the only team widely criticised for ‘over-celebrating’ – whether it’s Jamie Carragher berating Martin Odegaard for taking pictures of Stuart MacFarlane (Arsenal photographer), or people criticising Myles Lewis-Skelly for mocking Erling Haaland’s celebration when he scored on Sunday.
However, to some extent, these arguments have merit, especially when the celebrations and high spirits after full-time on Sunday clearly spill over into a dramatic under-performance on Wednesday. It does leave the door open for critics to launch an attack on the Gunners.
To some Arsenal fans, these celebrations without any trophies to back them up is a source of frustration. There is an argument to be made for focusing on the bigger picture and not resting until the job is done.
Why Arteta Is Just Getting Started
As mentioned above, it does appear that Arteta’s Arsenal are one or two players away from becoming Premier League champions. A new striker to take the burden away from Kai Havertz – who has started every league game this season and is without doubt too relied upon to lead the Arsenal attack – and perhaps a wide player to share creative duties with Martinelli and Saka.
Should Arsenal bring in these players in the summer, they will find themselves with a strong squad with an average age around 26 – positioned perfectly to create a legacy for themselves over the next decade. It is this period that will define Arteta’s time at Arsenal, with the careful rebuild needing a brilliant payoff.
HIs time so far is littered with intangible successes: he has brought a divided fanbase together, transformed an entirely nonthreatening team into a genuine contender, and developed and adapted massively as a coach during this time.
It’s always worth considering that while Arteta is a disciple of Guardiola, Arsenal was his first appointment – thus he has been, and will continue, honing his craft in a high pressure, high stakes environment. His coaching, and his team, can surely only improve.
Pressing Issues 
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