MIKEL ARTETA feels the time is right to make the big move into management.
His inside knowledge of Arsenal and its internal operations makes him the outstanding candidate for the Gunners headhunters.
Mikel Arteta reckons now is the time to make his first step into management as he prepares to take the Arsenal jobCredit: Getty – Contributor
Arteta, still only 37, narrowly missed out on the job to Unai Emery 18 months ago.
But the Spaniard has been a crucial part of the Manchester City success story as Pep Guardiola’s trusted right-hand man for the past three years.
Arteta spent five seasons playing at Arsenal, after joining for £10million from Everton, and was captain for his final two years at the Emirates before retiring in 2016.
Guardiola has said he will not stand in Arteta’s way — but his departure would come as a major blow to the defending champions.
Kevin De Bruyne knows exactly how much the assistant coach has contributed to the team’s recent successes.
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He said: “Mikel had to find his way a bit when he first joined us because the transition from player to coach is not easy.
“But now he is fulfilling his role really, really well and I guess one day he will be a head coach.
“I don’t know when that will be but if he gets a good opportunity and he thinks it’s the right time for him to take it, I think as a club you need to let somebody go.
“It’s his decision but he wants to grow as a coach and to do that you need to take the opportunities when they come.”
Arsenal had been hoping the appointment of Freddie Ljungberg as interim manager would help to buy them time to find Emery’s long-term replacement.
But the team has shown no signs of improvement during Ljungberg’s five games in charge.
FREDDIE NOT READY
And now owner Stan Kroenke and his son Josh have accepted the recruitment process has to be accelerated before it is too late to save the season from total wipeout.
The Gunners are already missing out on around £40m a year as a consequence of three seasons out of the Champions League.
Now the fear is they might not even finish high enough to get into the Europa League again, which would cost the club another £35m.
Ljungberg has repeatedly asked for more help to stop the rot after the majority of senior coaching staff left with Emery last month.
The Swede has been struggling to get by with the part-time help of academy head Per Mertesacker.
But the club do not want to bring in more coaches for a stop-gap boss who is not expected to be in charge at the Emirates beyond the New Year.
A FINE ART
Arteta has a good relationship with German Mertesacker from their time as team-mates, when he was often regarded as slightly aloof by some members of the dressing room.
Yet he was held in the highest possible regard by Arsene Wenger, who appointed him club captain in 2014.
He did not have the passing ability of Santi Cazorla or Mesut Ozil, nor the box-to-box dynamics of Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey.
But his tactical awareness and positional sense made him a key member of Wenger’s team as they twice won the FA Cup with him as captain.
I remember him voicing his frustration at the team’s naivety after a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace in 2014 when he was the only Arsenal player in his own half to defend against a late counter-attack.
And he will have noted those glaring faults have still not been addressed during City’s 3-0 win at the Emirates on Sunday.
His first job at the Emirates would be to plug the gaping hole in central midfield by recruiting a screening player in the mould of City stalwarts Fernandinho and Rodri.
It was three years ago tomorrow that Guardiola put Arteta in charge of training and team selection ahead of their 2-1 win against Arsenal.
Now he is ready to take on the manager’s role on a full-time basis.
And after passing him over for Emery just 18 months ago, Gunners chiefs are unlikely to make the same mistake again.
Fed up Freddie Ljungberg demands Arsenal chiefs decide now who they want as next permanent manager
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
