Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick has explained why he feels Arsenal should be patient and stick with struggling manager Mikel Arteta.
The Spanish tactician hasn’t been entirely convincing since taking over as Gunners boss, though it’s only his first job in management after impressing as part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City.
Chadwick feels, however, that it’s clearly going to be a long-term project getting Arsenal back to where they want to be, and that Arteta has shown signs of building a promising future for the club.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, the ex-Red Devil also drew comparisons with Man Utd, with little room for nuance when it comes to how the media and pundits analyse how they’re performing.
“With Arsenal, similarly to Manchester United, there never seems to be any in-between with them,” Chadwick said. “Obviously they had a poor start to the season and it was sort of the end of the world!
“Then their results improved and they climbed up the league, and there’s been a lot of hope around their fantastic young players, young English players too. Then the Manchester United game, if that had gone Arsenal’s way, which it could’ve done quite easily, then I think Arteta would still be seen as doing a great job and turning things around.
“Obviously they lost and then got beaten by Everton. They lost a 1-0 lead and it ended 2-1 but it could’ve been 4-1 with the goals that were disallowed, and it does seem to be slipping into crisis mode again.
“I think the hierarchy at Arsenal have shown they want to stick with Arteta, and I think that’s the right decision. I think he’s shown he’s got the makings of a real good manager and he’s got promising young players coming in, so it’s just about getting that all together.
“Aubameyang when he first came in, there was a huge buzz about him, now he’s had a bit of a setback since getting that pay rise and becoming captain. Still, despite these last two performances, they look like they have moved forward, not just in terms of results but also the squad he’s put together.
“There’s the making of something there and obviously Arsenal fans will want that to be sooner rather than later, but it looks like being a long-term project.”