Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal battled back to draw 2-2 with champions Liverpool on Sunday but the Gunners boss cut a very frustrated figure during his post-match interview on Merseyside
Jamie Carragher has warned “emotional” Mikel Arteta that he could face the sack next season after blaming him for Arsenal’s title near-misses. The Gunners have gone through another trophyless campaign under the Spaniard’s watch.
They saw their challenge for the Premier League crown ended in emphatic style by Liverpool, before their Champions League run was halted by French giants Paris Saint-Germain. Despite seeing his side rally from 2-0 down to level matters at Anfield on Sunday, Arsenal boss Arteta cut a very frustrated figure.
He publicly slammed his players for their first-half performances – something that stuck with Carragher. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “He’s driving high standards but what really stood out in the interview, and in the last couple of weeks in his press conferences, is that he’s getting emotional and at times he’s sounding a little bit like a fan, not the manager.
“He was really strong on how many players they’ve had sent off this season. He’s putting his hands up saying six. I think he’s convinced inside that they have been victims in some ways, with the sendings off and injuries they have had.
“I think deep down he thinks they could have won the league without this and that. There’s no doubt they would be a lot closer but the sendings-off are down to you. They weren’t all sendings-off, but that can happen in a season.
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“The injuries have hit them this season but they also played for them last season. What they have done in terms of competing Man City in the last two seasons is fantastic but a lot of that was down to having the same eight or nine players week in, week out, and him never rotating.”
And while Carragher is a huge fan of the work that Arteta has done with Arsenal, he claims that he could face pressure from club chiefs should he not end the club’s trophy drought next season. He added: “I’m a massive fan of Mikel Arteta.
“The job he has done, to get Arsenal from where they were to here. They made the jump to competing with Man City and they followed it up again last season, and they’ve been the team that pushed Liverpool this season.
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“But this season felt like it should have been their season. There’s no doubt next season the pressure will be on Arteta massively in terms of winning something and winning something big.
“If they don’t do that, the Arsenal board will have a massive issue, because they won’t want to change the manager, but there will be lots of people saying ‘five or six years without a trophy’ and they will be looking at how many managers can make that next step.
“The problem with changing Mikel Arteta is that Arsenal could easily become what Chelsea are now, a team finishing second year in year out, to a team not getting into the Champions League. That’s the big conundrum Arsenal will have in 12 months if Arsenal go close again but don’t get over the line. It feels like next season has to be the season.”
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