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Former Liverpool star Stan Collymore has told Mikel Arteta he should lose his job if Arsenal fails to win the Premier League this season.
The Gunners have been tipped by some pundits to win their first title in 22 years this season, although Liverpool is the clear favorite with many to defend its crown, especially after the deadline day signing of Alexander Isak.
And the Reds have already handed Arsenal a major setback in its quest to end its long wait, having claimed a 1-0 victory at Anfield to take an early lead in the title race, and put the pressure on Arteta and his team to respond.
Arsenal has finished second in each of the last three seasons, and has not won a major trophy since lifting the FA Cup in Arteta’s first year in charge, and Collymore believes the the Gunners’ boss should be facing more pressure after the defeat to Liverpool.
“I find it quite startling that Mikel Arteta isn’t under pressure at Arsenal,” Collymore wrote in his column for Caught Offside.
“Every season I’ve written this column, I always say at some time in the season: when will the criticism of Mikel Arteta happen? And the only reason I can think why he doesn’t criticise [sic] is because he has this uncanny ability to go into his next press conference with a big, beaming smile, as if he’s just put out a team that’s beaten Real Madrid 6-0.
“It’s remarkable. Every press conference, he looks confident. And I think to myself, that’s quite bold for a manager that’s only won one major trophy.
“The reality is if he was a golfer, and we kept on talking about him as an elite golfer, but in the last five years he hadn’t won a major, would be saying, well, he’s not an elite golfer. And I think you could say the same about him as an elite manager.”
Collymore added: “From my perspective, taking into account the performance against Liverpool, which was at best lukewarm and lacking in any belief, I am genuinely surprised that at this early stage of the season, we haven’t seen big-name managers being touted to take his position.
“And it’s almost as if it’s a given now, because he wasn’t sacked in the first couple of years, that he can now be the manager of Arsenal for the next 10 years and finish 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and that’ll be OK.
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“Looking at Pep Guardiola last season, it got to the point where people were legitimately asking if this is the end for Pep? Ange Postecoglou won the Europa League and then got sacked. What makes Mikel Arteta’s work at Arsenal any more exceptional other than steadying the ship, and added a little bit of progression?
“So for me, it’s really simple. He should be under pressure from all quarters this season, especially after the Liverpool game. And if he doesn’t deliver at the end of this season, it’s time to go.”
Liverpool.com says: As harsh as it sounds, because he has done a good job, Arteta does have to be facing some pressure. Let's face it, Arsenal should absolutely have done better last season, and not putting in a proper challenge for Liverpool has to be a big stain on his copybook.
Going another year without any sort of trophy might prove to be the last straw for a lot of Arsenal fans, and given what we saw at Anfield, Arteta still hasn't learned from his near misses.
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