Arteta Half Year Review 2023/4

I see a lot of unrest where Arteta is concerned and whilst I understand some of the frustration where we have stalled on progress this season, you have to remember where we have come from to get to this point.

Also do not forget who we are up against in trying to take the next step to win the league. Liverpool are just a fantastic team with arguably one of the two best managers in world football. The other in Guardiola also has the luxury of being able to buy and manage anyone he wants in world football, due to working for a disgraceful club who we can only hope one day get brought to justice for their blatant cheating and financial doping that they have got away with to fund their success for over a decade now.

Whereas we have had to do it the hard way and play by the rules. Meaning we've had to hand big contracts to undeserving players who aren't good enough like Cedric, Nketiah, Nelson because unlike others we can't just go out buying a squad full of £60-100m players to sit on the bench.

Considering this and where we have come from, the fact we're now even competing with these teams and managers is an achievement in itself at this point. In comparison we have a rookie who is in his first managerial role. Sure he has and is making mistakes that are frustrating sometimes, but I do wonder what people are actually expecting? Have people forgot where we came from?

I certainly haven't forgotten the god awful decade of long decay under Wenger to no longer being a top club, no longer remotely challenging any of the top teams and eventually falling out of the CL altogether. An excellent manager in Emery couldn't get us back there either and Arteta despite his faults; HAS. This is our first season back in!

Another huge positive I think it would be hard to argue against is that Arteta knows how to organise a team. Despite a huge setback in losing Timber for the season, we still look solid at the back for the first time in 20 years as well. For the best part of those two decades I used to wince every time a cross or corner came into our box. The weak areas in the team we do have could not be addressed in this Jan window, that was clear. But I fully expect Arteta to learn the lessons from this season. If we retain CL with a top 4 finish and recruit wisely in the summer with a #8, striker and a backup for Saka who is not Reiss Nelson, then Arteta deserves the chance to continue what he has started here; and see if he can take us to the next level. Klopp will be gone and hopefully City will be well on their way to paying the price for their disgraceful cheating.

Long story short, we need to get some perspective sometimes as it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.