“Pressure is on, Mikel” – Collymore questions whether Arteta is still the right man for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta couldn’t hide his disappointment after Arsenal were dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich.

It followed a 0-2 reverse at home to Aston Villa which puts the destination of this season’s Premier League title back in Man City’s hands.

The Gunners now find themselves two points behind Pep Guardiola’s side and there can’t be any more dropped points between now and the end of the season if Arsenal want to be in the title conversation right at the end of the campaign.

The late-season blip is beginning to mirror that from last season, and it brings into question the mentality of the squad and whether they have the strength to push on and deliver silverware.

Arteta needs to up his game

Ultimately, the buck stops with the manager, and former professional turned outspoken pundit, Stan Collymore, has questioned whether Arteta is still the man to lead the North Londoners.

“So if Arsenal don’t win the title (especially as they’re out of the CL now), do we have a serious conversation about whether he’s (Arteta) the man to take the big silverware to Arsenal?” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“£690m spent, playing Kai Havertz in midfield against a well drilled Villa team who outfought and out-thought them in the second half… if there’s another choke on the same scale as last year then surely Arsenal need to at least be looking around the market to see if there’s someone who can get them over the line?

“Arteta’s no rookie let’s not forget.

Stan Collymore questions whether Mikel Arteta is still the right man for Arsenal

“He’s been an apprentice at City, has had plenty of time to settle and implement his ideas at Arsenal and brought in the players HE wanted, including the likes of Havertz, Jesus – who when not injured hasn’t done anywhere near enough to suggest he’s a regular 25 goal a season striker – and if Zinchenko is the ‘leader’ that would transform the dressing room into winners then I’ve yet to see it in his performances.

“Pressure is on, Mikel. Forget the players, it’s on you now to prove you can lead when it matters.”

There are sure to be plenty of twists and turns to come in the race, and Arsenal are still right in the mix at the time of writing.

Were the Gunners to drop out of contention or even lose ground on the final day, it would represent another failure for the Spaniard.

No silverware whatsoever after a hefty transfer outlay last summer wouldn’t be a good look for Arsenal, and whilst they’ve never been a ‘hire em and fire em’ kind of club, there would be good reason for the board to at least consider their options during the summer.

In practically any other season, Arsenal’s general form, goalscoring prowess and defensive excellence would’ve seen them lift at least one trophy.

Were they to end with nothing at all from the 2023/24 season, it would simply indicate the strength of their opponents at the top end of the table, and hand whomever is in charge next season the blueprint of where to improve further.

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