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'Mikel Arteta could leave before the summer' | John Giles on Arsenal

John Giles told Off The Ball that he believes Arsenal are underperforming and questioned the pos...



'Mikel Arteta could leave befo...
Soccer

'Mikel Arteta could leave before the summer' | John Giles on Arsenal

John Giles told Off The Ball that he believes Arsenal are underperforming and questioned the position of Mikel Arteta.

The former Ireland player-manager believes Arteta might not hang around the Emirates for long, following their 3-0 loss to Manchester City.

"I read the other day that Arteta is going to see the board," said Giles, "I'd say he's a very, very worried individual.

"They have got to make the right moves," said Giles of Arsenal. "When Wenger was there and he had the power that he had and the owners got envious of it.

"When Wenger left, they said no manager will have the power Wenger had again. Why not?  Look what he did when he had the power to do what needed to be done.

"Directors don't like it, owners don't like it. They like to be in charge of the money. They are not qualified in a football sense. If you asked some of the owners and directors who pick the players, and that's what they have been doing."

Vision

Giles has many questions about how the Arsenal board is operating its transfer policy.

"Emery said in an interview a few months ago he wasn't bringing the players in, so who is bringing the players in?

"Everyone in football management has a vision of what they want, and to fulfil that vision you have to get the players you want.

"If somebody is saying 'I want A' and you're given B, that's the position Arsenal are in at the moment.

"That's why the new manager in (Arteta) would be worried. He's going to have to fight to get the power that Wenger had, and that is what's needed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he left. Before the summer. The writing is on the wall there. If he doesn't get the power he wants, he is going to suffer and his reputation is going to suffer.

"If he walked out now it's bad for his reputation, but the alternative is worse. He doesn't have the power to do what is needed to be done or he's sacked.

"They are the choices. He has to go to the board and say 'I can't work in these conditions, it's not working. I get all the stick and you've got all the power. I'm out front, my team and it's not my team is getting criticised and I'm responsible for it.'

Managerial expertise

Giles feels Arsenal's transfer policy is not helping the current or previous managers, especially when considering the presence of David Luiz in an Arsenal shirt.

"The manager is supposed to be there for his expertise," says Giles, "but I'd say Emery didn't agree with that (Luiz) deal.

"So he has a choice: reject it and get fired, or live with it and make it work. That's the choice managers have and in many ways.

"The supporters will say well 'what the hell are you doing in the job if you didn't buy him?' That's part of the job and they get trapped into it. That's like Arteta, does he live with it and go with it and not be able to say anything at the end?

"When you appoint a manager you appoint him for his expertise, use it. It's 90% of the job getting the players you want and getting rid of who you don't want.

"Emery wasn't in charge because they did say publicly that they'd never get a manger again with as much power as Wenger did. But he happened to be one of the most successful managers that Arsenal ever had, doing what he did.

"It was only when they stopped him from doing what he did that they fell away."

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Arsenal John Giles Mikel Arteta