Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have taken a dive into the unknown…
It’s the summer of ’96 and Arsenal are looking for a new manager. After months of speculation, there seem to be two favourites for the vacancy.
One of them is Johan Cruyff, the mastermind behind Barça’s ‘dream team’ and one of the most revered men in footballing history. The other is the manager of Nagoya Grampus Eight in the Japanese J1 League. The decision should have been obvious, but defying all logic, Arsenal went for Arsène Wenger.
22 years later, history seems to be repeating itself in North London. There’s an empty spot in the dugout and there seem to be two favourites for the position. The first is Massimiliano Allegri, who has just secured a fourth consecutive domestic double in Italy – and the other is Mikel Arteta, who is yet to manage a game at the top level. Arsenal seem to be going for the less fashionable name just like they did 1996.
By all means, The Gunners are taking a huge gamble. The optimists among the Arsenal faithful may cite the examples of Guadiola and Zidane as similar appointments that proved highly successful to calm their nerves, but both of them had prior experience as they managed Barca B and Real Madrid Castilla respectively. Even Arsene had won the league and domestic up with Monaco before his stint in Japan.
Arsene Wenger has backed Mikel Arteta to become the new Arsenal manager: https://t.co/bhY7mzLhNq pic.twitter.com/Ep1UR95lW7
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 17, 2018
The former Arsenal captain’s lack of experience is a major turn-off for the club’s fans, but it should not be forgotten that the Spaniard does have a glowing reputation as a trainer and coach. As recently as Monday, when Pep Guardiola was questioned about the improvement of Sane and Sterling by Gary Neville on Sky Sports, he was quick to praise his assistant by saying, “Arteta has helped them both make a lot of actions near the box.” Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has also publicly voiced his admiration for the Spaniard’s understanding and knowledge of the game, and was even keen to make him his assistant before he eventually joined Pep at Man City.
Even Wenger himself has backed Arteta, albeit in fairly simple words: “Overall, he has the necessary qualities.” It can certainly be argued that Arteta is ready to make the transition from assistant to manager, and his footballing philosophy does seem to align with what Arsenal fans have become accustomed to over time. However, there is no guarantee that a good coach will also make a good manager. Brian Kidd and René Meulensteen are just two notable examples of exceptional coaches who couldn’t make it as top-level mangers.
Arsenal are evidently a club in decline, and whoever comes in will be under tremendous pressure to turn things around. Many fans would have preferred to have someone like Allegri at the helm for a few years while Arteta developed as a manager elsewhere. Nonetheless, the board are all set to take the risk. In a world where reputations, once damaged, take an awful long time to repair, the step up will be a huge gamble for Arteta too. The former midfielder is likely well-aware that if results don’t go right, it won’t be long before Gunners’ fans are seen resorting to ‘Arteta Out‘ banners.