Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has now been told why he’s ‘failed’ at the Emirates Stadium by talkSPORT pundit Andy Goldstein.
Mikel Arteta replaced Unai Emery as manager of Arsenal at the end of 2019 and has since slowly built the Gunners into a side capable of challenging for silverware.
Unlike most managers in the modern game, he’s been given ample time to get his philosophy across and they are now reaping the rewards with some free-flowing football.
With the likes of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli all strutting their stuff in red and white, the excitement of watching Arsenal these days is akin to when Arsene Wenger was at the helm.
Like the Frenchman, he’s put his faith in a young squad, and it’s paying dividends.
While it’s not quite as sudden and slick as peak Wenger’s football, Arteta’s is almost always expansive and entertaining.
The Spaniard has taught his teams to pass from the back with precision and purpose, leading to some superb, back-to-front team goals.
Regardless of how easy on the eye his football is, though, he’ll always be judged by how many trophies he’s won and during his four years in North London, Arteta has one solitary FA Cup to show for over £550 million spent.
Andy Goldstein explains why Mikel Arteta has failed at Arsenal
Despite running Manchester City close to the Premier League title last term and topping the table after 17 matches this time round, Arteta needs to start gleaning silverware to reward such sensational football on the pitch.
Some people, including talkSPORT’s Andy Goldstein, believe that Arteta has failed at Arsenal until he starts winning trophies.
“I don’t think Arteta’s been a success yet,” said Goldstein.
“If anything, I think he’s failed, at the moment. I’ll tell you why, right.
“He’s spent half a billion pounds, right. His first season – 8th, second season – 8th, the next season they bottled the top-four – 5th, then bottled the Premier League and got 2nd.
“And the only trophy he’s won was with Unai Emery’s side.”
Has Arteta failed at Arsenal?
In the modern game, success is expected instantly so when people see that Arteta has only won one trophy in four years, they’ll deem him as a failure.
But if you look back in history, the hierarchy with the most patience normally comes out on top.
When Sir Alex Ferguson took over at Manchester United in 1986, it took him four years to win his first trophy, an FA Cup in 1990.
From there, he became the most successful manager in the history of English football.
Whilst the Arsenal board hasn’t been rewarded with trophies as of yet, it feels only a matter of time before Arteta leads the Gunners into a successful period.
If it begins with the Premier League title in May, the word ‘failure’ will soon be forgotten about.
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