Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be sacked by the Gunners if they fail to win a trophy this season, with the club reportedly identifying a suitable successor who has been compared to Arsène Wenger.
Arsenal are under pressure as Man City close the gap in the title race
24 hours changed everything at the top of the Premier League.
Arsenal went into last weekend with nine points. On Sunday evening, the picture looked very different.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth – a chance to go 12 points clear – was bad enough. Man City’s 3-0 win over Chelsea the following afternoon made it worse.
The gap between first and second is now six points, with City holding the game in hand, and the two teams will meet at the Etihad next Sunday in what could prove to be the end of the season.
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Arsenal’s last six Premier League games have been with the title |
The day |
|---|---|
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Man City (away) |
April 19 |
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Newcastle (home) |
April 25 |
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Fulham (home) |
May 2 |
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West Ham (away) |
May 10 |
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Burnley (home) |
May 17 |
|
Crystal Palace (away) |
May 24 |
Arsenal face Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday first, defending a 1-0 lead, before heading to Manchester knowing that a win for City will leave the title race in real jeopardy.
Arteta’s team lost the Carabao Cup final against City, and lost the FA Cup quarterfinal at Southampton.
Four races have been reduced to two in three weeks’ time, and in the two remaining races, the margin for error is shrinking rapidly.
“We were screaming” – Martin Keown says Arsenal star never got the ball against Bournemouth
The Gunners were drawn against Andoni Iraola’s team.
Reports from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo add fuel to the growing debate over Arteta’s future, although Fabrizio Romano says there is still trust between Arsenal and the Spaniard.
The book claims that Arsenal management have made contingency plans and identified a “suitable” candidate for Arteta, should the season end without a trophy again.
Arsenal are lining up Cesc Fabregas to replace Mikel Arteta on one condition
That candidate is Cesc Fàbregas.
The 38-year-old has been at the helm of Como since 2024, leading the newly promoted Serie A club for two seasons and pushing them into European contention – a significant achievement for a club that has returned to the top flight after a long absence.
Fabregas is contracted at Como until 2028, but reports suggest he could be open to a return to the Premier League if the right opportunity presents itself.
Arsenal, his former club, will represent just that.
He played for the Gunners between 2003 and 2011, making over 300 appearances and establishing himself as one of the most gifted Spanish players of his generation before moving to Barcelona.
The connection between Fabregas and Arsenal goes deeper than history alone.
He is involved in Como as a part owner, the level of personal and financial investment that European football journalist Andy Brassell used to draw comparisons with Wenger.
“Fabregas has a part in that, and he has, when I compare Arsene Wenger, not as a fan in the whole sense, but in the sense that he is fully invested and financially invested in the team as a shareholder as well,” Brassell told talkSPORT.
“It makes him closer to an old-time manager than a head coach, a bit like Arsène Wenger, as we were talking about before.”
Meanwhile Arteta is still firmly in charge, Arsenal are still leading the title race and alive in Europe.
But the next seven days will go a long way in determining whether those reports about succession planning remain theoretical, or whether the pressure becomes tangible.
It’s also worth noting that Fabregas was surprisingly linked with a move to Tottenham before hiring Roberto De Zerbi.
Arsenal could finally sack Arteta to hire ‘next manager of football’
Mikel Arteta is under a lot of pressure at Arsenal right now.
