Mikel Arteta Receives Surprise Sack Verdict From Wayne Rooney

Five-time Premier League champion Wayne Rooney claimed that location would apt beryllium “a alteration of manager” astatine Arsenal if Mikel Arteta fails to triumph this year’s title.

The Gunners person vanished 2nd nether nan Spaniard’s watch successful each of nan erstwhile 3 seasons. The 2020 FA Cup secured wrong nan opening 7 months of his tenure remains nan only trophy Arteta has won while astatine nan Arsenal helm, yet nan commencement to nan existent Premier League run bodes well.

Arsenal lead nan convention aft 9 games and, crucially, person opened up a seven-point spread complete reigning champions Liverpool who continue to splutter done their title defence. Serial winners Manchester City are six points adrift while Bournemouth (four points back), Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland (both five) dress up Arsenal’s closest challengers.

This surge up nan table—which ignores immoderate of nan subtleties astir nan team’s continued struggles to create open-play chances—has prompted many to statesman chiselling a superior “A” connected nan Premier League trophy.

“The squad is bully capable now and I deliberation they’ve had nan experiences which person sewage them close, but I deliberation they’re fresh for it,” Rooney mused connected his self-titled podcast pursuing Sunday’s triumph complete Crystal Palace.

Yet, nan favourites tag comes pinch its ain pressure. “If they don’t triumph it now, you’d astir apt spot a alteration of manager,” Rooney predicted.

Arteta presently has an Arsenal statement which stretches to 2027. There has not been a susurration from those wrong nan nine that nan erstwhile skipper has immoderate volition of leaving northbound London earlier then. In stark contrast, Arteta was instrumental successful nan process down extending nan contracts of Gabriel and William Saliba until nan summertime of 2030 presumably nether nan presumption that he will stay astatine nan nine himself.

Eberechi Eze fired Arsenal 4 points clear successful nan Premier League title race. / Henry Nicholls/AFP.Getty Images

Rooney’s erstwhile Mancheser United teammate Gary Neville shared his belief that this was Arsenal’s title to lose. “This has sewage to beryllium them, hasn’t it?” he asked himself connected another podcast named aft nan lead protagonist.

“This is nan 4th play connected nan bounce that I’ve had them to triumph nan league, but they’re not needfully miles better, they’re repeating their levels of consistency, and that’s each they’re going to person to do this twelvemonth to triumph nan league.”

While Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola predicted that Arsenal and Liverpool (and 1 mysterious 3rd contender he declined to name) would not driblet galore points this season, Neville based on that nan Gunners wouldn’t person to rewrite nan grounds books to declare a first convention title successful 21 years.

“They’re not going to person to spell and get 100 points, they’re not going to person to get moreover 90 aliases 95 points to triumph nan league, mid-80s, precocious 80s will triumph them this title, and they tin do that,” Neville claimed.

“I mentioned earlier astir nan different teams [being] inconsistent and unreliable, that’s not this Arsenal team. They’re very reliable. You tin spot them. The measurement successful which they take sides is fantastic. They’re each astir each other. They don’t concede goals. They’ve sewage a threat up beforehand successful aggregate areas.

“They’ve not sewage a sensational centre forward, but they’ve sewage a battering ram up location arsenic honorable arsenic a day’s long, and that tin activity for them. They’ve sewage [Eberechi] Eze, they’ve sewage truthful they’ve sewage [Noni] Madueke, [Gabriel] Martinelli, [Leandro] Trossard, tons of players who tin lend goals. They’ve sewage [Declan] Rice who tin evidently present successful group pieces. They’ve sewage 4 awesome fullbacks and 3 fantabulous centre-backs.”

Now they’ve besides sewage nan caller unit of holding onto first spot for nan adjacent 7 months.

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