Arteta handed sack warning ahead of crucial Arsenal match

With Arsenal’s place in Europe under serious threat for next season, Bent believes Arteta’s future hangs in the balance.

Darren Bent believes a failure to win the Europa League with Arsenal this season could cause Mikel Arteta to lose his job.

The Gunners, who sit in ninth place in the Premier League, head to Slavia Prague on Thursday for the return leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie knowing victory is a must following a 1-1 first-leg draw.

Failure to do so could very well result in elimination unless they can score at least once and hold Slavia Prague to a draw in the Czech Republic.

But Bent believes Arteta has to aim much higher than a semi-final spot to guarantee his future.

“When Arsenal were looking for a manager there was two people up for grabs: Arteta and [Carlo] Ancelotti,” the former Tottenham striker told talkSPORT.

“I thought Ancelotti should have been the one to go to Arsenal and Arteta to go to Everton.

“The early signs were really good in terms of look how quickly he [Arteta] picked up a trophy.

“Yes, this season has been really inconsistent but I don’t want Arsenal to turn into a club where they keep sacking managers – at some stage you’ve got to give someone a little bit of time.

“The FA Cup papers over a lot of cracks and if Arsenal go out of the Europa League and finish tenth or eleventh, I think he could be out of a job.”

If Arsenal manage to beat Slavia Prague, either Dinamo Zagreb or Villarreal will await them in the semi-finals.

Arteta, of course, is well aware of the ‘responsibility’ he and the team have of qualifying for Europe next season.