Who’s Next? – Mikel Arteta

With Unai Emery’s eventual sacking last Friday, Arsenal are currently in search of a new Head Coach. Our objectives for the season remain that we must qualify to play in the Champions League for next season but in order to achieve this; our performances, and ultimately results, must improve drastically. Having lost the game to Brighton at home last night, it’s not only just a winless run of seven games in the Premier League, it also means we’re currently 10th in the table. We’re in very big trouble and we need someone to steady the ship. To do that, they need to make sure Rose falls in love with Jack, Captain Birdseye stays focused behind the ship’s wheel, and they avoid plummeting into the fucking huge iceberg. Our once titanic club is in danger of sinking to the bottom of the ocean… unless we find a saviour.

The club have placed their faith in club legend Freddie Ljungberg as interim Head Coach until they make a decision on appointing a manager permanently. As much as I love Freddie, and I’m fairly sure most fans do for the great success he has helped provide the club in years gone by. Sadly, I think he’s out of his depth here and this job might be a bit too soon in terms of his management aspirations. I fear the longer he’s left in this position, I’m afraid it will tarnish his illustrious legacy.

At the moment there is a selection of possible candidates touted by the media as the four main favourites. The hot picks, if you will, are Mikel Arteta, Massimiliano Allegri, Nuno Espirito Santo, and Mauricio Pochettino. Considering the appointment of Emery last year fell under the radar of the media and fans, I will compile a list of other possibilities to take the Gunners hotseat in a separate article. Here’s a closer examination of Mikel Arteta and what he would bring as Head Coach of Arsenal.

Bearing in mind the club were reportedly close to selecting Mikel Arteta as Arsenal Head Coach before designating Emery as Arsene Wenger’s replacement in June, you have to believe the club will seriously consider Arteta for the job once again. In all fairness, not much has changed from his perspective. He hasn’t tarnished his reputation as a Head Coach by failing to reach expectations set by any particular football club, quite like other individuals may have done or are currently in danger of doing. But, nor has he gained experience in top level management, which of course casts the biggest doubt in making a case for hiring him.

When Arteta was previously interviewed for the role, it’s reported that he thoroughly impressed at board-room level. Striking up a strong relationship with your employers is important but hiring someone purely on the basis of how well they interviewed, severely backfired last time around. The board mentioned on several occasions how impressed they were with Emery’s in-depth, dossier packed analysis of individual players. They based this as being one of the key factors behind their decision to appoint him. I severely hope more thought is put into choosing our next Head Coach and that it’s not based purely on tactical, statistical, or analytical PowerPoint presentations. We don’t need another statistician! We need them to be the right fit in terms of experience, ability, and suitability.

Based on what I do know, I believe Arteta would be better suited to the DNA of Arsenal than Emery was. No disrespect to Emery, as I firmly believe he is a very talented football coach but, for whatever reason, it just didn’t work for him at Arsenal. Arteta served the Gunners for five years, eventually taking the role of club captain towards the end of his tenure before retiring as a player. Although most fans wouldn’t necessarily label Arteta a club legend, a majority of them would acknowledge his successful achievements at the Emirates. He was a crucial figure to the club, winning two FA Cups whilst he donned the North London red and white. He was a model professional with his perfect teeth and his perfect hair, which more or less embodied the immaculate, classy aesthetic Wenger implemented at the club.

If he were able to apply the knowledge and skills so many fans are hoping he picked under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, along with his impeccable demeanour, then I think he would help return a touch of the “Wenger” class we have so sorely missed.

Although Arteta talks incredibly well to the press and the media in general, I have a small (nonsensical) concern that he doesn’t have the aura required to captivate or command a dressing room. The likes of Jürgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino, and Guardiola, are all characters you expect to capture everyone’s attention the moment they walk in the room. For whatever reason, I’m not entirely sure why, I just don’t get that impression from Arteta. Hopefully, I’m completely wrong on this, and it turns out he actually has more charisma than Barack Obama. Wenger is a very quiet unassuming man whom so many thought he belonged in a science lab than on a football dugout when he first appeared on the scene. Still, he had an air about him that drew people’s attention. Let’s hope Arteta has a bit of that.

I’d give his appointment a likelihood rating 8 out of 10, considering how close we were to giving him the job previously. If he were to become the Head Coach, I’d rate his chances of success 7 out of 10 but seeing as he has zero managerial experience to date, that’s more of a hopeful guess than an educated one.