Mikel Arteta is the right man to lead Arsenal, according to Vinai Venkatesham.
Playing up the Spaniard’s long-standing connection with the club and his understanding of its core values, the Gunners CEO spoke optimistically about the foundations being put in place despite a recent downturn in form.
It’s coming up to a year since Arsenal installed Arteta in the dugout and challenged him to get the club back into the Champions League. While his appointment came too late to make the necessary impact at the end of his first season, hopes were high off the back of September’s FA Cup success that we might seriously challenge our traditional rivals this season for a place at Europe’s top table.
Despite impeccable form in cup competitions, our struggles in the league continue and dissenting voices grow louder.
For the moment, Venkatesham’s belief in the manager is unwavering.
“With Mikel we have got a number of things,” he said on Friday. “You’ve got an individual who has extraordinary experience in the Premier League across his time at Arsenal, Everton, Man City and then back at Arsenal.
“You have got a guy that loves this club and understands what it means to play for this club, and he was obviously captain here. You’ve got a guy who is a real team player.
“The team he’s formed with Edu [the technical director], and also his technical staff, is really, really strong.
“You’ve got a guy who is absolutely driven to succeed and be successful on the pitch, but doing it in a way that respects our history and traditions. So I think with him we have got a really, really powerful individual.”
Venkatesham gave similar backing to Unai Emery in September last year and then came to the decision, with the rest of the executive committee, to sack him six weeks later.
We’re not saying that’s going to happen this time, but we’re also experienced enough to know that football moves brutally quickly. Ultimately, a club’s ability to stay true to its values is dictated by the results it achieves on the pitch.
The dreaded vote of confidence from the Board.
Not it.
Exactly what I thought. Time will tell I suppose.
Sounds like platitudes, but the underlying message is that Vinai cannot even recommend the sack even if he wanted to. He must be relieved that they are in different spheres, otherwise a vote of no confidence from Arteta could do him in.
I’ll just mention here very quickly that Massimiliano Alegri is currently without a club and would like to manage a club in the English Premier League.
Also, I really like Arteta but I would really like a coach with more experience and a record of winning at the highest level.
I’ll get my coat.
Take your coat and go, if you think Alegri gets Arsenal or could get more out of this squad you’re deluded. Just because it’s a name. Pathetic.
And you’re enjoying the present situation, right?
Experience in any walk of life counts for a lot.
I don’t seem to recollect any sides managed by Allegri relying on hit and hope crosses to win their respective titles.
Maybe you need to grab your coat.
That Alegri is a better long term manager for Arsenal is certainly debatable. But it’s crazy to think that Arsenal would not be better than 15th with Alegri in control, especially a year and two transfer windows into the job.
There is absolutely no proof that would be the case and it elides the fact that Alegri hasn’t had to work in England or English before. Arteta is young and learning on the job, but if people can just look past the immediate moment, they will be thankful they did as he will bring success to this club if we let him and support him in the process. We are never going to find success at this club by rotating managers every few years — we don’t have the financial model to do so. Everyone in the football world who… Read more »
If Arteta doesn’t work out then the most important thing we can do as a club is develop some sort of identity in terms of how we want to play & the types of players we want to bring in – do we want to be a counter attacking defensive team, open attacking football, young players or just 30 somethings on Bosmans?
That lessens the importance of any individual.
Arteta will work out, don’t worry.
I’m not sure that Allegri would be prepared to work under the financial restrictions that both Emery and Arteta have had to, even if he was a realistic option and I don’t think he is because I think and hope that Arteta will, eventually turn this around.
The FACup win maybe gave us all false hopes but the dysfunction of this squad runs deep.
I don’t get the “false hope” narrative surrounding the FA Cup. Winning it was amazing after the season we had had with Unai getting sacked and poor Freddie being thrown under the bus by the hierarchy. Winning it also ensured that we got European football which is something I think a lot of dissenters forget. However, anyone with eyes can see that our team is not top 4 material and if we somehow miracously achieve it this season then Arteta needs to receive a knighthood or something. So I totally agree about the dysfunction of our squad but the idea… Read more »
We’re a cup team who had everything go right during that run. That said we spent massively again this summer – have to include contracts even if most fans only look at transfer feee- and have a squad who should be pushing for top 4 especially given the way to big clubs are struggling. There really hasn’t been any real progress since Emery in terms of style or results – we simply like Arteta and want to give him time for that reason. Arteta is massively under performing right now to the point he would be sacked by any other… Read more »
We earned that FA Cup, including the drop, and every one before it. Downplay if you want, but I loved every minute of it.
Progress will come, but it takes time. This isn’t Football Manager …
The nice thing is we’ll know soon as we’ll be in a legit relegation battle and looking for a new manager if it doesn’t.
Why do fans want us to fail? Never makes sense to me.
No one wants us to fail. We currently are which is the issue you seem unable to grasp
You seem to be confusing stating the current reality with a desire to fail. The football and results are awful
No, I’m merely detecting the unrelenting suggestions in your posts that we should find a new manager, that Arteta is getting it all wrong and that he isn’t experienced enough, that our FA Cup success was down to luck, and that we aren’t as good as Liverpool right now. Not sure that’s giving Arteta a fair shot at building something and achieving success. Zero perspective: just bam bam bam, we aren’t good enough. Thanks, but no thanks.
The table doesn’t lie. He’s doing a shockingly bad job. Hopefully he turns it around
The table will not finish as it looks today. What is accurate today is not accurate in a week or three. Quit pushing for the manager to be sacked — it makes no sense and will only hurt this club further. It’s been 11 PL games since we won the Community Shield and the FA Cup. Eleven games. It’s been one calendar year, amidst a global pandemic, since Arteta took over. Coming on here and crying 50 times a day that we’re in 15th and aren’t winning and we’re not as good as Liverpool and why don’t we hire somebody… Read more »
Futsboller – meet straw man as that’s virtually what all of your arguments have become.
Hilarious.
Hopefully. I’m done with this boring, turgid crap, masquerading as football. Even Bertie Mee allowed players like Charlie George and George Armstrong freedom to express themselves, Terry Neil did the same for Hudson and Brady, Don Howe with Charlie Nicholas and George Graham with Rocky. As for Arsene, he simply brought the most beautiful football Arsenal have ever played – and are ever likely to play. People say we’ve tightened up at the back – and while that’s true and we’ve also landed the FA Cup on the way, I cannot see Arteta’s style of play ever threatening to win… Read more »
Come on Arteta, show them what you are capable of. I have faith!
Have to say, I am struggling for the moment. But I certainly don’t think that changing anything before the end of the season, will do anything positive.
But this ‘vote of confidence’ is just the same – as the piece points out – as what we said of Emery or Wenger before that. It doesn’t aid the mood music, one little bit.
It’s not the same thing at all as the Emery “vote of confidence”. Re-read that piece if you haven’t already. Also people need to remember that Emery had had more than a season in charge and had messed up top 4 and failed to get us CL through the Europa League final…something that he is an expert in. The final nail in the coffin for Emery was his failure in the Europa League…he didn’t get sacked after our awful display against Southampton…it was the loss to Frankfurt that did for him. The fact that we are fans and should really… Read more »
December is a big month for us. 3 home games with fans (hopefully) and 2 away trips to Everton and Brighton if we can manage to get results out of this month which generally proves to be a challenge and recruit a much-needed CAM in January then surely things can change just like what they did for Manchester United last season. We need a player like Bruno/Aouar to save our season and we need him badly!
Emery had a year and a half. Inherited a pretty good squad with a distinct style from Wenger. People seem to forget however, his first January window he was pushing for Nkuku (doing superb at Leipzig now) but never got him. Instead we had Dennis Suarez which doesn’t need any reminding. In the summer he tried for Zaha, again didn’t happen. Lost Ramsey and had to settle with Ozil whom he clearly didn’t want. Wanted a tall CDM, he was gonna get rid of Torreira, both also didn’t happen. Before the board splurged an insane amount of money for Pepe… Read more »
Emery inherited a terrible squad – a deeply unbalanced squad, mostly lacking the desired level of character to play for this club – and we’re still paying for it.
It’s ok to accept a definition of Arsene as a great manager, who made mistakes at the end. It doesn’t diminish his achievements in my view.
For me the most unfair thing was when he lost rob holding to injury during the transfer window and the club refused to replace him. Mustafi stepped in and the rest is history.
Are you saying Mikel is playing the ‘first team’ so that the club have no doubts ? Hmmmm
Emery inherited an average, lopsided squad from Arsene, which had no discernible style of play any more.
That lopsided team performed miles ahead of this current team.
Yep….doesn’t change the fact though.
Auba, Ramsey, Laca, Welbeck, Iwobi (Pepe hasn’t proved better) etc.
That lopsided team would’ve continued finishing in the top four had it not been for the turmoil. And Klopp wouldn’t have gotten that CL medal. St totteringham’s day would be in full swing and we’d be saying maybe Mour’ll end it then call Wenger a failure. The organized trolls won out in the end so I have to credit the Troll factory which Liv and Tott set up and kicked in for
Wow. If you believe that…….
Substitute the word turmoil for Mustafi and you’re spot on.
The fact that you are a dick head?
For a man who has never contributed a single comment on here with even a hint of intelligence or wit, you have an extraordinary sense of your own importance relevant to everyone else.
A reaslist. Thank you sir.
Rubbish. He inherited a squad that could score plenty of goals but was let down time and again by centre halves like Mustafi, who couldn’t (and still can’t) defend for toffee. If Arsene has one fault, it was that he put way too much faith in those defenders and that’s why we didn’t challenge properly for the title and eventually dropped out of the top four. Had Arsene – or Emery – addressed the centre halve problem properly, then we would have done far better. Under Arteta the reverse is happening. We’re no longer shipping quite so many soft goals,… Read more »
In Arsene’s last season we scored 20 (twenty) goals in our 19 games away from home in the league. It clearly wasn’t just a defensive problem.
Both managers have spent significant money and had access to extremely well paid players. I’m happy if Arteta gets longer to prove himself, but don’t feel sorry for him on transfers.
Huge deals for ageing players with no transfer sell-on (Auba, Cedric, Willian, Luiz) and big signings like Partey and Gabriel is strong support from the club.
I guess Emery had less control on who came in and out, but neither got results to match the wage bill.
Emery inherited a poor team. Wenger was struggling last season bc of poor decisions in market. what are you on about…arguably Arteta has better resources…certainly should be good enough to be higher than where we are considering teams around us in league…Arsenal fans smoking the good stuff again…
That “poor” team you’re on about finished 3-4 year’s consecutive CL positions barring one season, and that was the season prior to Emery coming in. Emery also inherited Aubameyang into his team and had money to spend.
Clearly you’re the deluded one here, not to mention too stupid to not know about a quick google search.
Nothing will improve until we are purged of the Kroenke’s. Rather be run by the Krankie’s.
Dead club under LAW.
I have said time and again that this club would be far better off with different ownership.
However, the results are on Arteta, nobody else. The Kroenkes did cough up for Partey (albeit a loan that we shall have to settle with them in due course) when they didn’t have any legal obligation to do so. Don’t get me wrong, I cannot stand them and want them gone – but the main reason we’re struggling is down to our lack of creativity in midfield and a world class creative midfielder ostracised on 350k a week. That’s on the manager.
HE said the same thing about the last manager and then sacked him – writing clearly on the wall.
Cannot understand how he has sanctioned the signing at huge money of Luis and Willian – both past their best – Willian making no effort at all. on £200.000 plus a week plus the huge signing on fee – Xmas came really early – must have thought he had died and gone to heaven?
Pepe signing also beyond comprehension – blame the insanity of the Board not Arteta.
Surely must start valuing the Academy youngsters more?
I honestly think Arteta is doing a good job tactically. I rarely agree with his choice of lineup (he obviously has favorites), but the type of football he wants to play, seems to me to have the potential to be both entertaining and effective. Many fans believe we played into Spurs’ hands, cecause we allowed one counter attack (that maybe only happened because of Parteys injury). That could have happened for any team. We controlled them very well, every ball they played forward got intercepted, and we were constantly on their side of the pitch. Regardless of what pundits or… Read more »
There are highly effective teams – Liverpool for instance – who play without a creative or attacking midfielder. They rely on a functional hard working midfielder which allows their front 3 to be much more fluid and creative. The big issue we have is our midfield slows everything down whereas effective teams speed play up. We allow every team time to reset defensively which forces us to either break them down or ping crosses in. Right now other teams know how ineffective our tactics are they they’re more than happy to let us have the ball and just counter us.
They have firmino who plays as a false 9. Essentially the same as a number 10. They also have Wijnaldum, Ox, and Shaqriri that all have their quality in attack. Also because of the high fullbacks, they allow both Mane and Salah to drift in an create from there(mostly Mane, who is similar to how Alexis was for us). Our attackers are not creative and fluid fullstop. Aubemeyang is a finisher, Lacazette is a box striker. Pepe sometimes can be, but mostly loses the ball. Willians not a very good footballer overall. When we played Partey and Elneny in midfield… Read more »
Yep. I think everything even bordering on Arteta Out is crazy to me. We dont like where we are in the league. Neither does he. He’s given me NO reason to doubt his ability as a tactictian or motivator (except for selecting Willian). Our squad is not top 6 quality and the style he’s playing with doesn’t suit our current players. While it makes sense for him to coach them to fit it (and replace the ones that he can’t), instead of build an average set of tactics to match their mediocrity, we are going to struggle for a while.… Read more »
Liverpool’s midfield exists solely to win the ball back and quickly recycle it forward to either the overlapping fullbacks or the very dynamic front 3. There’s no one in that midfield who really functions as a creative hub. I would counter that we have players who could actually form pretty dynamic front 3 – Auba/Pepe/Saka and could play either a midfield similar to Liverpool (would require likely AMN/Partey/Elneny) or we do have players who could add more thrust – Dani/ESR etc. The issue is Arteta’s tactics are so bad at this point – slow the ball down, pass to the… Read more »
Liverpool have Thiago now tbf, so he can be that creative hub for them when they need it. Gini, Ox and Keita are also all creative and dynamic, but they marry that with defensive duties unlike a pure 10.
Agree that we do have the midfielders to play a better style of football, should we choose to do so. Ceballos could do more with more freedom, AMN and ESR have real promise and I actually think Saka could be an option at 8 as well. Willock is raw but there is potential there and he has an eye for goal.
Willock, Nelson and Nketiah are average players at best. The sooner we get upgrades on them, the better. Also, it feels terrible that our players cannot hold the ball (so unlike Wenger days) and give it away so often in dangerous areas which causes panic. It is a malaise and it is down to both players and the manager.
I don’t really see that we have a regular style. There was a lot of talk about playing from the back, high pressing and passing triangles, but that happens for a match or two and then fades.
Investing in ageing players will never yield enough energy for that approach.
When we do not use our best creative player for reasons known to the board and the coach
Hey, let’s be pragmatic and buy Dele Alli from Spurs.
But we don’t have a diving board at The Emirates.
Funny enough, Alli’s best seasons at Spurs were when he played with a pure creator in Eriksen and Kane as a target man. Alli isn’t a traditional 10, he’s more of a so-called raumdeuter that relies on the service and hold up play of others. Very good when he gets the ball in the final third (in space), but no good getting the ball there himself.
I have to agree with you, you make good points I don’t know why the down votes
You lost me with your opening sentence.
Arteta is not doing a good job tactically – except, perhaps, for our opponents.
15th in the table and the club’s worst start to a season for nearly forty years.
And you reckon he’s doing a good job tactically……?
🤣
Oh Vinai, how should I say this….no one cares about your opinion or backing. We still don’t know what you actually do
well said. I for once thought, this guy would go before arteta.
i thought he was already gone!
LoL! They shouldn’t have shredded David Dean’s job description.
Amen
Just pause for a second and reflect on Arsenal. One of the most valuable clubs in the world, but not a single *proven* leader/manager/football person anywhere to be seen from the coach through the CEO/President. There’s not a person on this staff who has ever had responsibility for winning or building a winner and done so. Where did these people come from? Vinai worked his way up internally. Fine, but under a regime that never accomplished much beyond during that time. Edu and Mikel are basically the “contacts book” version of a TD and Manager/Coach. Did a little apprenticeship elsewhere,… Read more »
Values: 54 crosses and hope something might stick.
I actually started thinking about how much (and why?) crossing is done in games only recently. The way I took details of the game for granted… Thanks to the current Arsenal.
My goodness, am I actually on an Arsenal fan site?
I know, it’s a fucking joke.
The sad thing is that this is the more moderate/decent/intelligent ones. A great many of so called “Arsenal fans” need to find something else to hate, it’s embarrassing. aftv have a lot to answer for, they’ve empowered the idiots and made us a laughing stock.
Negativity is trendy, and trending … its something you can follow, right down the slope. A shame.
When I hear our execs talk about values, or anyone at the club, I wanna throw up.
Not that it’s bad to have values, but it’s important to live them and not just talk about them while most of the stuff you’re doing is the opposite. I’m not talking here about the charity and community work but the football side of things.
Yea its the same cosmetics that was spewed out by Gazidis but people here just want to hear what they want to and conveniently ignore similar when out someone they prefer’s arse. True.
All this bleating about playing the “second team” Smoking crack? We play teams like Dundalk etc in Europa…levels below PL even. We may be able to play one or two of them in rotation and as options but you must be mental to think it will be better with ‘the second team’ in the league. Arteta needs to work to strengths of what he has on hand. As I said the actual formation is moot. I’m watching City United with United deploying Rashford and Greenwood wide with a four man midfield McTomminey and Fred at base as a functional screen… Read more »
We will speak when we get relegated.
ArtetaOut
And whilst you’re dishing out the platitudes, we’re 15th in the table.
Speaks volumes. (No pun intended).
Where is the resident stats merchant Mr “By The Numbers or Visuals”? People who make excuses for Arteta : Emery and Arteta BOTH on 31 PL games played : Won – Emery 19 Arteta 13 Drawn- Emery 6 Arteta 7 Lost – Emery 6 Arteta11 Goals For – Emery 65 Arteta 42 Goals Agst – Emery 39 Arteta 42 Points – Emery 63 Arteta 46 Arsenal spent 24m on Gabriel, 45m on Thomas Partey plus Pepe and Saliba bled another 20m not to mention Mari and Cedric… not chum change. …not saying we have good choices at the moment as… Read more »
Interesting stats, which don’t make easy reading for Arteta. It’s a results business and MikeI, much as I like him, is fast running out of road. The Board bang on about the ‘project’, but I’d be interested to know what their bottom line expectation of Arteta is this season.
Perhaps you’re also a bit ‘foggy in the head’ since you’ve forgotten to compare trophy wins
I truly hope Arseblog continues to publish my comments. Having a different opinion healthy for all (and no offense to anyone I may have rubbed off the wrong way)… but as I also have mentioned for sometime (and now as evident) Arteta has had a mixed record managing players. Ozil still a useful and expensive asset wasting away on bench someone Wenger himself recently mentioned is not difficult to manage despite obvious shortcomings… but also Guendouzi recently whom I mentioned was a way more talented player than the hardworking Willock but whom Arteta was not able to get on side… Read more »
Hey, here’s a idea. Why don’t we sack vinai? Then, why don’t we sack Edu?
After that why don’t we sack arteta?
Then after that why don’t we get rid of all the players?
Then we’ll win!!!!!!
If maybe you’re American and don’t know about British sarcasm, I’m suggesting there’s a bigger problem.
So, maybe Arteta has got six weeks to turn things around then?
Turning over managers never work, if it did then nobody would stay in a job…
He’ll get the season, and once he proves himself to all the naysayers, he’ll get much more than that. We can misread the quotes and the votes of confidence all we like on here, but Arsenal have clearly gone “all in” on Arteta and his project, and I think they are, like the team, ready to suffer through some difficult periods in order to achieve the sustained success it promises to deliver. It is a crying shame that we have learned nothing from our past behaviour as Arsenal fans, that we haven’t been able to mature our opinions over the… Read more »
Of course he should get the season.
You always back your staff in public, right up until the point you stop backing them.
KSE will want to give Arteta time, but they also wanted to back Emery, and fan pressure forced them into a decision.
Hopefully we pick up at least 7/9 going into the Chelsea game.
Massimiliano Allegri