Jamie Carragher has laid out how the axe could fall on Mikel Arteta, amid Arsenal’s fifth straight season with no silverware.
After beating Tottenham 5-1 at the end of last month, Liverpool pipped the Gunners to the title with four games to go, making Arne Slot’s side the joint-third earliest champions in Premier League history.
Arsenal’s Champions League dream was stopped short by PSG last week who consigned the north London club to a semi-final exit.
Arteta’s side were also bounced out at the semi-final stage in the EFL Cup by Newcastle, while their FA Cup run was halted at the first checkpoint when they lost in the third round to Manchester United.
And after Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, Carragher had some damning words for their manager.
‘This season felt like it should have been their season,’ the Reds legend said. ‘There’s no doubt next season that the pressure will be on Mikel Arteta massively in terms of winning something and winning something big.
Carragher argued Arsenal will consider sacking Arteta if he does not win a trophy next season
The Spaniard has not delivered a trophy since his first term at the club – the FA Cup in 2020
Arsenal have played bridesmaid in the title race for the last three seasons, finishing second
‘The Arsenal board, if they don’t [win a major trophy], will have a massive issue because they won’t want to change their manager, but there will be that many people saying: five or six years without a trophy.
‘They will be looking at how many managers can make that next step.’
However, Carragher did concede that a managerial switch would be a major gamble for Arsenal, given that Arteta has had them consistently fighting for Premier League titles for the first time in almost 20 years.
The pundit explained that bringing someone new in could have an opposite effect to the one desired, citing Chelsea’s recent struggles.
‘The problem with changing Mikel Arteta because, as I said, he’s done a brilliant job at Arsenal,’ he added.
‘Arsenal could easily become what Chelsea are right now. They could go from a team coming second year in, year out to a team that doesn’t actually get into the Champions League.
‘[Changing managers] is the big conundrum that Arsenal as a football club will have in 12 months, if Arsenal go close again don’t actually get across the line.’
Carragher went on to express his lack of amusement at Arteta’s het up post-match interview following Sunday’s result, arguing that the 43-year-old once again came across ‘like a little bit of a fan’.
The 10-men Gunners were able to manage a 2-2 draw against champions Liverpool on Sunday
Arteta complained about the fact his side received their sixth red card in the league this season
Carragher went on to say that Arteta is prone to acting ‘like a little bit of a fan’ when speaking
Arteta said: ‘For sure, don’t play six times in the season with 10 men – because if that happens, we won’t win [the title] next season, for sure. And [we need to] learn, a lot of learning.’
Arteta was referencing Mikel Merino’s red card offence, which was Arsenal’s sixth in the Premier League this season.
Soon after drawing the Gunners level in the 70th minute, Merino was sent off, halting his side’s hopes of fully unravelling Liverpool’s two-goal lead and scoring a third.
Instead, Arsenal had to play out the 2-2 draw and leave Merseyside with a point.
In response to Arteta’s comments, Carragher continued: ‘Mikel Arteta in the last couple of weeks is saying things and he’s getting emotional. And at times he’s sounding like a little bit of a fan, not so much the manager.
‘I think he’s convinced inside that they’ve been victims this season in some way; they’ve had six sending offs, the injuries that they’ve had.
‘I think deep down he thinks they could have won the league without this and that – the red cards are not their fault, it was the referees and the injuries.’
