Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has warned Mikel Arteta that he must keep his side in the top two of the Premier League next season if he wants to stay in the job next season.
Arsenal beat Newcastle United 1-0 at the Emirates on Sunday to all but secure second place in the Premier League for the third season in a row – barring a staggering turnaround in goal difference – but on Sky Sports after the match, Merson warned that Arteta needs to turn good performances into trophies quickly.
“Arteta has got until Christmas. They will have to be in the top two at Christmas to keep on going,” said the 57-year-old.
“If you get to four [seasons, without any major trophies], you can’t [keep going].
“People want to come to Arsenal so it’s not like they’re scratching to get players – and they’ve got the money.
“He’s got to be in the top two by Christmas or they’ll go for someone else,” he added.
“It’s timings. You have timings, you’ve got to make opportunities. When it’s your time, you’ve got to make it count. Look at Liverpool, they went 30 years without a title, and then all of a sudden it comes around, they win trophies,” he added, pointing out that the circumstances have fallen in Arsenal’s favour in recent seasons.
“I just think they have to make it count and I think this is the last year,” he added.
Fellow panel member Jamie Redknapp was in agreement, stating that “no doubt at all, you can dress this up as a real positive if you want and say second again, [but] it’s not good enough this season”.
“This [title race] would be the big miss for him [Mikel Arteta] because Man City in other years have been so good.”
Merson added that he expects Arsenal to be in the top two at Christmas next season, but warned that “the fans will start getting fed up, especially if Tottenham win [in the Europa League final] on Wednesday night”.
The panel agreed that Arsenal’s priority signing in the summer window must be a striker, with Merson emphasising that the club “need a couple of players”.
“I hope he doesn’t end up like [Arsene] Wenger did a couple of years into his reign when everyone knew they needed a centre-back. They need a centre forward.
“There’s a saying in life, if you keep on doing the same things over and over again and getting the same result, it’s insanity,” said Merson on the club’s failure to sign a striker in the last few windows.
“If they keep on doing it again next year, then it’s madness,” he added.
