Opinion – It is time for Mikel Arteta to change the narrative | OneFootball

At best, Mikel Arteta walked away agitated from his interview with Sky Sports at Old Trafford following the 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

Patrick Davison had hardly asked anything insulting or disrespectful. He simply queried whether Arsenal’s lack of attacking options was the reason for the club being 15 points behind Liverpool.

The club has a PR department that advises on how to answer questions, when to smile or not, how to carry oneself, what body language reveals, how to deflect conversations, and more. However, it seems that some departments at the club are not earning their wages—particularly the recruitment team. Surely, any competent press officer would have advised that, once the transfer window closed and Arsenal made no signings, the topic was bound to come up in every pre- and post-match press conference.

I attempted to explain to my peers that a big club waving the white flag halfway through the competition is quite unique. A manager waving his hands and jumping up and down in January, asking for help because the team is short up front, only to be ignored, is a story.

Even without a heads-up, Arteta is an intelligent and cerebral coach, so he must have known that the narrative would be the same every time his team dropped points from February onward. The fact that he has won just once in the league since the window shut, with two of those games resulting in no goals scored, and all four games struggling to even test the opposition’s goalkeeper, surely shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

It would be disingenuous to pretend that Arsenal do not have an issue in front of goal, as if the media were ignoring the obvious. So, I must believe that his frustration on Sunday was directed towards those who pay his salary. Perhaps when he’s alone with his wife, he complains about the lack of ambition from his employers.

While I accept that high-level professionals often have great self-belief, I would be concerned if his anger stemmed from the realisation that the title race is over. Because if Arteta truly thought that chasing down the league leaders with a central midfielder as a striker was a viable option, then he may not be the man to end Arsenal’s Premier League drought.

Reporters are forced to ask the same question because they are witnessing the same thing every few days: sideways passing that doesn’t translate into chances. Don’t like hearing the same observations? Then change the ending of the story.

If the Spaniard thought he was changing things by putting too much responsibility on the shoulders of a teenager, then he is being arrogant. If he is tired, imagine how the Gooners feel, having to read the same story knowing exactly how it will end.

If Arteta thought that relying on his left-backs as attacking options off the bench was a solution, then he is being naïve.

To find a solution, you first need to admit there is a problem. Instead of bemoaning the question, Arteta should ask himself why it’s being asked in the first place. The majority of supporters, pundits, and former players all knew that not signing any attacking players would cost Arsenal dearly. One cannot have the audacity to think they know better, be proven wrong, and then be surprised when the issue is raised.

I must believe that this weekend, Mikel Arteta grew tired of defending the indefensible, and for a moment, he did not want to be the shield taking the bullets for the Kroenke family. The mask was slipping.

Josh Kroenke and Arteta

In public, what can he say? He is the third-highest-paid coach in the world due to his ability to quote the company line, knowing when to use certain buzzwords, and being aware of what the fans want to hear. It would be counterproductive to throw the owners under the bus, and few in his position would do so. Part of his job is also to get the best out of the resources at his disposal. He must fill his squad with confidence and, of course, pretend that what he has to work with is good enough.

In the short term, he could change the question by altering the formation and not persisting with the same system that isn’t working. But in the long term, when he hears that question and becomes flustered, I need him to be thinking about the Kroenke family.

I need him to bottle up that resentment and remember that feeling when he holds his annual review. Preferably, that meeting should take place in America, where the custodians of the club need to hear where this season went wrong.

Mikel Arteta has many strengths and could win major honours elsewhere. He may have to take a pay cut and fall on his sword, but in the long term, he will gain more respect for telling the truth.

I am glad our manager wasn’t happy on Sunday; I want to see him hurt, as it means he cares. However, if he is tired of the same questions, he must change the narrative. If he only realised in March that the title race is over, then he is not the right man to lead Arsenal.

Dan Smith

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