Is Mikel Arteta Ready To Take On the Arsenal Hotseat?

Arsenal are reportedly in talks with Manchester City over the availability of former player and coach Mikel Arteta to take over at the club.

The Arsenal officials were photographed in the early hours of Monday morning leaving Arteta’s Manchester home with the club expecting to announce a new manager before the new year. Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and club lawyer Huss Fahmy were shown leaving Arteta’s home around 1am, following a reported two-and-a-half-hour meeting with their leading candidate.

Following Arsenal’s damaging home defeat to Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday, the club feel that an appointment must be made immediately with Freddie Ljunberg struggling to inspire the Arsenal camp, following Unai Emery’s sacking last month.

With only one win since the end of October, Arsenal are suffering from a terrible decline. Not only are the results proving a damning evidence of the state of the club but there is a lack of fight, desire and character amongst the squad. The club hierarchy are reportedly searching for a candidate who knows the club, has an understanding of the Premier League and is available to take over immediately.

Mikel Arteta is the leading candidate for the job but is Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man ready to take on the Arsenal burden?

Providing the fact that the former Arsenal and Everton man has learned his trade under Pep Guardiola for the past three years, there is an increasing belief within the Arsenal camp that the Spaniard will bring some of Guardiola’s ethos and philosophy to the table. Exciting as it may be, it would be a massive gamble for Arsenal to appoint someone who has never managed at the top level, especially a club the size of Arsenal and their current turmoil.

Despite Arteta’s lack of experience, Arsenal see his coaching credentials as impeccable. As well as developing under the guidance of Guardiola, he also came through the ranks at Barcelona as a player. The former midfielder is seen as a modern coach and very influential on a one-on-one basis. He is known to improve players and for the amount of time he spends analysing performances and other finer details.

In much the same way Guardiola was able to study and learn from his mentor Johan Cruyff while a player at Barcelona, Arteta has been able to work closely with one of the greatest coaches to grace the game. He was brought in at the start of Guardiola’s time at City and has played an integral part in the clubs two record-breaking seasons in the league. The pair have developed a mutual trust and Guardiola has come to rely on Arteta’s thorough tactical analysis in particular.

Arteta was supposed to take over the reigns after Wenger departed in fact, impressing the Frenchman while given an opportunity to work with the backroom staff, but Emery was appointed instead. 18 months on, things have drastically changed. After being overlooked, Arteta is seen as the man to turn around Arsenal’s fortunes.

Arteta is seen as a low-risk appointment in comparison to someone like Max Allegri, who is unable to speak English fluently, holds no understanding of the Premier League and would demand high transfer funds in January. It is believed that Arteta would be honoured at taking the club duties head on, leaving the transfer business to the likes of head of football Raul Sanllehi and technical director Edu. Also, he would be a popular figure with the fans seeing as he was club captain before he retired at the end of his spell at the Emirates.

There is no telling whether Arteta holds the required character and managerial nous to change Arsenal’s situation around. This is a squad suffering from a lack of confidence, belief and a winning mentality. The environment Arteta has become accustomed to in Manchester is totally different to the one he may inherit at the Emirates.

How Arteta will aim to transform Arsenal’s frailties at the back and in midfield is another matter entirely. Will funds become available in Jan? With the window fast approaching, there may not be enough time for Arteta to evaluate his playing squad and identify the targets he needs. If the transfer business is left to Sanllehi and Edu, then much consideration and thorough scouting will be required in order for the club to get the right players in, especially in defence where Arsenal are leaking goals seamlessly.

There are questions that will require solutions during the rest of the season. How would Arteta line up? Will he stick or twist with Ozil and Granit Xhaka? Will Lacazette get the game time he craves? Can the Spaniard get the best out of record signing Nicolas Pepe?

Arsenal need their identity and structure back and it certainly won’t be a quick fix. The fact remains, whether the Arsenal faithful have the required patience in Arteta to find a solution. The issues at Arsenal run deep, and while there may be cause for concern regarding Arteta’s potential appointment, the risk is there for him as well as the whole club. Yet the potential reward could make this one of the most exciting appointments in recent years.