Arsenal appointing former captain Mikel Arteta as head coach was always a gamble for both parties involved. The Spaniard’s early games in charge will have shown him just what a big job he has on his hands of turning things around in north London.
A 2-1 home defeat by London rivals Chelsea on Sunday was maybe slightly harsh on the Gunners. However, the defeat means that Arteta has picked up one point from his first two games as Arsenal head coach.
Arsenal’s recent results have seen the team from north London slip into the bottom half of the Premier League table. In fact, they are now just six points clear of the relegation zone, after winning just once in their last 12 league outings.
The display against Chelsea was not awful. The Gunners dominated the game in periods, but once again their downfall was defensive mistakes.
This is a facet of the Arsenal game that Arteta needs to improve and quickly before the team fall any further down the table.
The Spaniard cannot legislate for mistakes like goalkeepers Bernd Leno’s for the first goal. However, he can work on defensive shape and organisation so that the Gunners don’t concede goals in a similar manner to the Blues winning effort.
The fact that Arsenal was leading with seven minutes left on the clock and managed to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory is a concern for Arteta. A lack of mental strength has been a common theme in Arsenal teams in recent years.
Maybe changing the mentality will be Arteta’s biggest challenge in his maiden managerial role. It could prove to be a make or break factor in whether the Spaniard succeeds in north London.
If Mikel Arteta did not know the sort of challenges he faced before taking the Arsenal job, he does now. Only time will tell if the highly-rated young coach has what it takes to be successful in north London.