Mikel’s facing a huge job and I’m sceptical

MIKEL ARTETA was a super technical midfield player but you could ruffle his feathers and intimidate him a little bit with the right personnel. He was quiet on the pitch, not someone you’d assume would go into management and be a natural leader like Roy Keane or Steven Gerrard.

That doesn’t mean Arteta won’t be a successful manager. Frank Lampard also got on with his business quietly and has done well in the hotseat. My reservation is whether Arsenal, in their current state, is the right club for him to take a first managerial job at 37.

Arteta’s obviously got a good reputation as a bright, intelligent coach and I understand him to be very personable, which helps in the dressing room. The coaching aspect is important because the job is to prepare a group so they can deliver a plan on the pitch and win matches.

A lack of experience wouldn’t be a barrier to success in some jobs, but might be for this one. Arsenal’s predicament is such that it’s a big risk to ask a novice to transform a poor and imbalanced squad, to get them competing at the top again.

I’m all for engaging in a longterm plan but most clubs panic if the short-term gets sticky. Arsenal have the clout to attract top coaches from around the world so it’s a gamble to choose Arteta when even Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola would struggle with the current players.

I wrote last week about the effect a club legend can have but Arteta isn’t really that. Yes, he played at Arsenal for five years, but it was during the latter stages of Arsene Wenger’s time when they weren’t challenging for the

Premier League or Champions League. Arteta did captain them in the 2014 FA Cup final against Hull. That’s not to be derided but it doesn’t make him a bona fide legend to lift the crowd like Patrick Vieira would have done. Vieira is a Gunners God and would have been given the time that even Freddie Ljungberg, an Invincible, didn’t receive.

Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also had managerial experience, even if limited. I know Arteta has assisted Guardiola admirably at Manchester City but he’s never been in charge himself. How will he handle players who knock at his door, having a go?

IN terms of keeping the DNA that Wenger laid down, Arteta looks a good fit. He’ll have been brought up on good, attacking football but I don’t think he’ll be naive. He did well at Everton under David Moyes when they had to dig in to win matches.

He’ll need good support from the board. If Arteta feels that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, for example, should be allowed to leave because the player’s heart isn’t in it, the board have to try to facilitate that rather than base decisions purely on financial reasons.

It’s reported there is some disquiet in the squad. Honesty from a manager always helps. If Arteta finds out what each player wants, and explains what he wants, the players will usually be onside even if there is an eventual parting.

If he is cute and builds a rapport, minds can change on both sides. Toby Alderweireld has just signed a new deal at Spurs for Jose Mourinho, something unlikely under Mauricio Pochettino. Roy Hodgson was up front with me at Fulham and said I could leave as he couldn’t guarantee playing me every week. I liked that he was open. I decided to stay and fight for my place, and, thankfully, kept my spot.

Arteta has outstanding managerial potential but I am sceptical about his prospects at The Emirates. I think Arsenal 2019-20 requires a massive rebuild. Giving a job that size to a man with little experience is a strange combination.

As for Carlo Ancelotti taking the Everton job as expected, Duncan Ferguson will still have a huge part to play as the heart and soul of the club.

I like Ancelotti a lot and think it’s a real statement of intent for Everton to attract someone like him. People I know who have worked with him, including John Terry and Steve Holland, speak about him with real warmth.

Yes, he’s more used to managing world-class players like Andrea Pirlo and Cristiano Ronaldo, rather than the guys he must improve at Goodison, but I don’t think the tactical and man-management techniques are that different.

I think Everton fans should feel optimistic. At Chelsea, he won the Double with Ray Wilkins by his side. Big Dunc would fit that role at Everton perfectly because his coaching has rightly received praise in its own right. He isn’t just an Everton icon, he has been under different managers for several years. The help he can give Ancelotti is invaluable.