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Just a year ago the Spanish replacement took place on the bench of the Arsenal. Came out Unai emery, weighed down by poor results, and came Mikel Arteta, become an icon «gunner» during his career as a footballer and spent time as assistant coach of Pep Guardiola on the bench Manchester City.
There were bad times then for Arsenal, which occupied half the table and saw how the European positions, those who never escaped with Arsène Wenger As a coach, they became more and more complicated without having yet reached the halfway point of the season. Arteta’s task, therefore, was not an easy one. But the reality is that, leaving the summer behind, a coronavirus pandemic through, Arsenal had finished in eighth position, far from the pretensions at the beginning of the season, but with two more titles in the showcase: the FA Cup won against Chelsea and Community Shield conquered against Liverpool. It didn’t seem like a bad premiere for Arteta.
Weeks later, with the new season underway, the expected signing of Thomas Partey, closed on the last market day. The hitherto Atlético midfielder came to a team that had just beaten Sheffield United in the league and marched fourth in the Premier League, so their incorporation seemed to be one more argument for Arsenal in order to settle in the increasingly competitive upper zone of the English league. Nothing is further from reality…
Arteta, walking a tightrope
The results have been very different since then, since since that distant 4 October, Arsenal have not won in the league again, chaining seven losses and two draws. So bad is his league situation that more than worrying about reaching European positions, now eleven points, in the club they look with fear towards the descent, because they are only four points behind Burnley, who also has two games less.
It is the particular Arteta roller coaster In this 2020, capable of guiding Arsenal to a title double that they had not achieved in five years and signing months later the worst league start in several decades. Now, once discouragement has settled in the club, those titles emerge in the memory of the fan “gunner” like two mirages in the poor career of the Spanish coach, unable until now to straighten the course of a team that does not raise its head .
In fact, there are several legends that have spoken about the bad moment of the team. Alan Shearer, the all-time top scorer in the English championship, even spoke about the ghost of relegation: “I wouldn’t be so sure they can keep the category. Not with that starting team and the attitude of some of its players, “he said. Arteta should be worried. Trust them but they only have 12 goals all season. They have no options. Against Everton, Pepe was not prepared to get into the area. He was jogging, sometimes walking. He has to do much more.
Recently, his friend Guardiola came out to give him a cloak, aware of the bad moment he is going through: “There is no doubt that he is still the best to guide Arsenal,” he said. But Arteta’s numbers are worse than those that cost Emery his job a year ago.
The credit runs out for the Spaniard as he watches with fear the following two rivals: Tuesday against Manchester City, at Capital One, and next Saturday the London derby against the Chelsea, in the traditional «Boxing Day». A year ago Arteta made his debut as Arsenal manager on such an important date, and twelve months later, after adding two titles to the record, he could be living his last days on the bench of the club that saw him become an icon in England.
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