Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacts to Bournemouth’s defeat (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Nine points adrift at the top with six games remaining and Arsenal fans cheering their team off the pitch at the Emirates Stadium – of course there’s more context than that, but it’s a useful reminder that the Gunners mustn’t take it for granted.
There will definitely be talk of Mikel Arteta’s future as Arsenal manager now. With everyone having decided that the club is going to screw it up and finish trophyless again, it stands to reason that the next question is on the manager and whether his career is over.
Except the season isn’t over yet, so let’s pause, take a breath, and take a moment to take a closer look at Arsenal’s situation.
The Gooners are sure they have faced this situation before, but every season is different, and even though finishing three years in a row can start to look similar, there has been one ‘bottleneck’ in that three-year run, and even then it can be argued that it was only a serious injury to William Saliba that saw Manchester City’s winners overtake them.
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Is Arteta’s sack talk right? Here are five reasons we think Arsenal need to stick with him…
The title is still in Arsenal’s hands
So, to start by stating the obvious, Arsenal’s season is not over yet. Far from it. We’ll get to the Champions League in a moment, but first let’s remember that the title is still in their hands.
Manchester City face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge later today – in the space of a few hours they are likely to drop more points to keep Arsenal level.
It’s not too far off for Man City to beat Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium next weekend. Pep Guardiola’s side are in desperate need of three points from that club, but have won just one of their seven games against the north Londoners, having played their last two games against them at the Etihad.
After that, it’s a surprise – we’ve seen both teams drop points in games you’d expect them to win this season, so anyone who’s backing City to continue their old long winning runs probably hasn’t seen them play much this season.
| Arsenal’s remaining Premier League fixtures |
| Manchester City (A) |
| Newcastle United (H) |
| Fulham (H) |
| West Ham United (A) |
| Burnley (H) |
| Crystal Palace (A) |
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Bournemouth are a tougher game than they look
It’s easy to forget just how tough Arsenal’s schedule has been this season, in what is often regarded as one of the most competitive Premier Leagues we’ve ever had.
So, when Bournemouth went into yesterday’s game with 22 days off since their last game, while Arsenal played for the third time in a week, was anyone surprised that Arteta’s men looked so slow and sharp?
Of course there aren’t many excuses in the title race, you have to win games like this, but slips happen even to the best teams, and this was a bottom-of-the-table team that played good football all season, and will probably pick up a lot of points against the big teams before the campaign is done.
At the time, their manager Andoni Iraola is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the game, and there is a good chance he will be in the works for the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool if they decide to change managers this summer. Perhaps he will be leading Man City’s next title challenge if Pep decides to call it a day.
? Is it time for Arsenal to sack Mikel Arteta?
– CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) April 12, 2026
Injury
This has been Arsenal’s theme all season, and while everyone may be sick of hearing about it, that doesn’t make it a problem.
Yesterday against Bournemouth, Arsenal lined up outside: Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino, and Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie were ready to start on the bench.
Arteta has had critics for overusing certain players and not throwing enough, and that may have led to the sinking of someone like Martin Zubimendi, but most of the players at the top clubs will be well aware that he is expected to perform at a very high level every few days. This hasn’t been the case with Odegaard and Calafiori in particular, and there are a few other members of this squad who are injury-prone in a way that makes it difficult to simply lay the blame on the manager.
A Champions League semi final appearance is possible
Arsenal won 1-0 away to Sporting Lisbon a few days ago, becoming the first team to win at Portugal’s biggest stadium since August. They were the better team for most of the time, and it should go down as the best result.
Despite the disaster in the second leg, Arsenal are now in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second season in a row. For those who are blindsided by Arsene Wenger’s era and all the good football these teams played, it is important to remember that this is a club that has NEVER played back-to-back Champions League semi-finals, and that would have made their REAL PROGRAM at this stage of the competition under Arteta.
No upgrade is guaranteed
Hiring a manager is tough, so if you’re going to fire one of the best in Europe you can be sure you’re getting a promotion.
Who is there? Guardiola is not joining and probably never will. Jurgen Klopp has retired, and will not manage another Premier League club. Thomas Tuchel recently signed a new contract with England so he will be there for the next few years unless the World Cup turns out to be worse than expected. Carlo Ancelotti is likely to retire after his stint with Brazil.
So when there’s no guaranteed winner there, gamble on someone like Enzo Maresca or Ruben Amorim, or if you’re lucky you might get yourself Arne Slot, although you’ll probably have to think about bringing him back in just a few years.
Firing Arteta sounds like a simple and obvious solution until you give it a little thought. He doesn’t go anywhere unless he decides enough is enough, and he picks every top job out there, just wait and see.
