Ex-Chelsea star warns Arsenal against ‘idiotic’ Arteta decision

As the pressure mounts on Mikel Arteta, the under-fire Arsenal manager has a point to prove after making some big signings this summer.

Sacking Mikel Arteta as Arsenal manager before the Christmas period would be an ‘idiotic’ decision, says Tony Cascarino.

An opening day 2-0 defeat to Premier League new boys Brentford last week has left Arteta in the firing line again. His FA Cup success last year brought him some time, but it appears that’s over. Fans have grown disgruntled by a lack of results and improvement under the Spaniard. Not even the big-money summer signings have eased concerns nor made any relevant impact for the squad so far.

🗣Darren Bent on #Arsenal: ‘It’s tough to watch. The performance against Brentford was poor, they were bullied. It wasn’t good to watch and I felt sorry for Ben White. If we want to get back to the good times, you sack Mikel Arteta and bring in someone like Antonio Conte… pic.twitter.com/TotEAwRQAe

— Arsenal News Channel (@Arsenalnewschan) August 18, 2021

But Cascarino has urged Arsenal to remain patient and see how things play out between Arteta and his new crop of players.

“Mikel Arteta has shown some signs of smart management -and he lifted the FA Cup in 2020 after a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Wembley – but I’ve been surprised at how defensive his teams have been,” the former Blues striker wrote in his The Times column.

“He hasn’t replicated the kind of adventurous football he witnessed first-hand as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City. That has been compounded by some bad decisions in the transfer market.

“While Arsenal have made a lot of mistakes, it would be idiotic to sack Arteta before Christmas.

“After so much investment in the squad, it would not make sense to get rid of the Spaniard before he has had a chance to show what he is trying to build at the club. Now he has to prove he can create a more positive team to get the fans on board again.”

Arteta and Arsenal will next face Cascarino’s former club Chelsea on Sunday in the Premier League at home.