IS IT FAIR FOR POTTER TO DEMAND TO BE GIVEN THE SAME TIME AS ARTETA?

CHELSEA’S owners have cited Mikel Arteta and Premier League leaders Arsenal as an example as they continue to back Graham Potter, as has the under-fire Blues boss himself. Here Sportsmail examines some of the similarities and differences between the situations faced by both managers in their early days.

RESULTS

POTTER has won nine, drawn seven and lost 10 of his first 26 Chelsea games. Arteta recorded 14 wins in the same period, drawing and losing six matches apiece. His start was clearly better than Potter’s and the latter has suffered more painful early results.

PLAYER BUY-IN

ARTETA focused on introducing togetherness to the fractured club he took over. Sources say he had an aura which helped convince players that he was a manager worth believing in. There have been concerns about whether some Chelsea stars have bought into Potter in the same way, although he is also well-liked as a person.

HIERARCHY

ARSENAL went all-in on Arteta, backed him in difficult times and are proud of the fact they kept the faith, which they are now being rewarded for.

Their belief was tested on a few occasions, including a run of seven league games without a win in late 2020. Generally, though, Arsenal chiefs were always certain they had made the right choice, especially sporting director Edu. Chelsea’s hierarchy wanted Potter for the

long-term when appointing him and, as things stand, still see things the same way. But winning matches is what matters and bad results in Chelsea’s next two games could change things.

FAN REACTION

WINNING the FA Cup early on in his reign earned Arteta breathing space, as did the fact that much of his first 18 months was played behind closed doors due to the pandemic, sparing him and the club from feeling the full effect of any fan dissent. Potter has not been so fortunate in that sense and has been in charge while supporters have chanted for former manager Thomas Tuchel, launched online campaigns against him and crossed the line with sickening death threats.

MITIGATING FACTORS

ARTETA inherited a squad that required major surgery and it arguably took two and a half seasons for him to build a team he might consider to be his. Chelsea have been able to accelerate that process with their spending but that has brought other problems for Potter — a squad so bloated it is impacting training and forcing him to leave players out of squads who would expect to be involved. That, their injury crisis and all the upheaval since last year’s change in ownership are factors that have hampered Chelsea. Even so, they would never have anticipated results to be as bad as this.