Erik ten Hag will go down as an absolute failure as Manchester United boss.
Mention his name to a supporter and he or she shakes their head in disbelief. And he still won two trophies in 30 months. Which is twice as many as Mikel Arteta has won as Arsenal manager in more than five years.
Which tells us two things. Arteta has become a master in failure, and the people who run Arsenal are more easily pleased than those in charge at United.
The Spaniard now specialises in under-achievement, and how long will he be able to continue winning nothing at a club where failure should never become the norm?
Owner Stan Kroenke indulges Arteta because he is a former player and managerial prodigy of the great Pep Guardiola. But more fool him. Since being appointed in 2019, Arteta has spent £650m and won one FA Cup. While Arsenal have now gone more than two decades without being champions for the first time in the club’s post-War history.
How can this be acceptable at a club with one of the most storied histories in English football?
(Image: Getty Images)
Arsenal might be second in the table and the closest challengers to Liverpool. But the difference between the two teams is enormous. And who remembers a runner up?
Arteta is hurtling towards six years in charge and still no closer to making his team champions, while Arne Slot has almost sewed up his first one in just over six months. The natives are getting restless at the Emirates – and it’s not difficult to work out who the finger of blame will be pointed at.
The mistakes Arteta made in last summer’s transfer window are now underpinning the team’s shortcomings. Despite a man on the moon realising Arsenal needed a world class goalscorer, Arteta blew more than £70m on Mikel Merino and Riccardo Califiori.
And then used his two loan signings to bring in Neto (he’s the Brazilian goalkeeper whose made four appearances), and Raheem Sterling (he’s the bloke whose career appears to have come to a shuddering halt).
(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arteta’s decision to spend multiple transfer windows shunning the chance to land a leading forward is as mind-boggling as it is naive. And should he still be around come this summer, he needs to move heaven and earth to sign someone of the ilk of Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, whether Eddie Howe’s side return to the Champions League or not.
Guardiola’s team were a great one before Erling Haaland arrived, but his goals in his first season led City to a Treble. It’s not rocket science. Yet Arteta appears to be either too stubborn or stupid to provide an answer to his problems.
“We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game,” Arteta said upon his appointment. “That’s been made very clear to me in my discussions with (owners) Stan and Josh Kroenke, and the senior people from the club.”
One domestic cup since 2019 means Arteta has not fulfilled his duties. If ever there was a season in which Arsenal could be champions again it was this one, due to City’s remarkable collapse.
Yet Arsenal are destined to be the bridesmaids once again. And Arsenal’s marriage to Arteta needs dissolving.
Kevin De Bruyne personifies Man City plight
KEVIN De Bruyne cut a sad and lonely figure as he trudged off the Etihad pitch following Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Wrapped up in his club coat, he walked towards the tunnel with head bowed, resembling someone still wondering where it all went wrong. And the answer is that he should have left City last summer on a high, while he still had the chance. Instead, he agreed to see out the final 12 months of his contract – and is now regretting it.
De Bruyne personifies City’s current plight, because he looks like someone time has caught up with. He will be 34 in June and deserves a better send off than this.
Because the Belgium midfielder has been the heartbeat of all the success City have enjoyed. One of the truly great midfielders of his generation.
As much as it has been a privilege to watch him play through his pomp, it is now equally saddening to see him struggle to recreate those former glories.