Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has had his say on the job Mikel Arteta has been doing at the Emirates over the last 18 months.
Arteta started off his managerial career brilliantly, winning the FA Cup and the Community Shield in his first few months. However, his first full season as a manager turned out to be a really rough one for him.
Arsenal ended up eighth in the Premier League last season, our worst finish in over 25 years. That is simply not good enough for a club as big as ours, and some Gooners even called for Arteta’s head at one point.
Fabregas was quizzed about Arteta and the former Gunners skipper seemed hopeful. He claims that the players he has spoken to at Arsenal are fully behind the manager, and he, like all of us, is hoping that his compatriot can help bring us forward next season.
Cesc Fabregas: Mikel Arteta knows what he’s doing at Arsenal
He told TalkSport: “He’s a guy that loves football. He knows what he’s doing. He’s got a clear idea of where he wants to go. Even now, if you speak to some of the players, they will tell you that they really enjoy playing under him, that the training (sessions) are well, that they feel prepared and they know what they’re doing.
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“He was very lucky in terms of being next to Pep [Guardiola] for I don’t know how many years exactly but it was like super preparation for a young coach. I mean if I could have the chance to do something like that, I think I could grab it without any question because it’s like doing a masters when you are only finishing high school.
“It’s a difficult job. It really is (because of) where he got the club and where the aim is that Arsenal should be. But I think Edu and the board believe a lot in him and hopefully, he can be the man to bring this team forward.”
The Insider’s View:
Arteta has clearly had his ups and downs at Arsenal. The FA Cup and the Community Shield triumphs laid the perfect foundation for us to kick on and achieve something special, but for one reason or another, we failed last season.
That simply cannot be the case again next term. Arsenal will mostly play just one game every week and we have a good enough squad to beat most teams in the country. A few quality additions could take us to the next level, and it’s up to Arteta to get everyone firing.
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Arsenal have a really tough start to the season. We play Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham in our first six games, which is not ideal. However, if Arteta can beat all three of them, we could really dream of achieving something special next term.
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