FourFourTwo

IS MIKEL ARTETA THE GUNNERS’ OWN GUARDIOLA?

- TIM STILLMAN @ Stillberto

Time will tell how high Mikel Arteta’s ceiling as a coach reaches, but he has modernised Arsenal’s approach already.

It’s about more than the FA Cup. The Spaniard has dragged this team into the 2020s with his cultural reset of a club that had become too indulgent. He has created a long- awaited culture of accountabi­lity in north London by sidelining those whose applicatio­n wavers. Crucially, he also welcomes players back into the fold if they correct their attitude.

Although a great deal of power in football may have devolved away from coaches and into the hands of overarchin­g, besuited hierarchie­s, Europe’s best teams have very identifiab­le figurehead­s in the hotseat. While Arteta is some way off matching the achievemen­ts of Messrs Guardiola, Klopp and Zidane, he has the charisma to become that figurehead for Arsenal. Talk of “non- negotiable­s” quickly won over fans and it seems he has the players’ buy- in, too. Most of them, anyway – the others won’t last long.

Arteta’s tactical approach is also refreshing­ly modern. Fluid, bright and adaptable, it is based on the Marcelo Bielsa- inspired principles so beloved by Pep Guardiola, the man Arteta spent three and a half years under as assistant coach at Manchester City. There has been a focus on positional play and effective pressing, both of which improved Arsenal after the former midfielder’s arrival last December.

Nobody is under any illusion about the size of Arteta’s task, but there is confidence that Arsenal now have a project manager capable of overseeing the club’s transition from the long Arsene Wenger era. Arteta immediatel­y got to work on the Gunners’ defence, and he significan­tly tightened up a porous backline, though their attack is still open to further improvemen­t under the 38- year- old’s tutelage.

The question many Arsenal fans are grappling with is whether the club’s executive branch will hand him the tools required for a necessary squad overhaul. At Manchester City and Barcelona, Guardiola started work at a club already carved into his image; Bayern Munich’s culture was a little less malleable, but they still offered him significan­t resources. Arsenal can’t do this, so they’ll have to be clever in how they provide their manager with ammunition. Fans, however, aren’t sure that Raul Sanllehi, Vinai Venkatesha­m and Edu can outsmart the market and give Arteta the fighting chance he has emphatical­ly earned.

 ?? Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang ( 29) ?? PREMIER LEAGUE 8th
FA CUP Winners
LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round
TOP SCORER ( ALL COMPS)
Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang ( 29) PREMIER LEAGUE 8th FA CUP Winners LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round TOP SCORER ( ALL COMPS)

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