Former Chelsea and Liverpool star Joe Cole warned Mikel Arteta of the need to start winning trophies, as he pointed out the kind of season Arsenal have had.
Some sections of the Arsenal fans are complaining about the lack of trophies after five years in charge for Mikel Arteta. There’s some merit in the argument as the Spanish manager only has a solitary FA Cup to show for his cause, which he won in the season he was appointed as the club’s new manager.
Arteta has gone a long way in building this squad and stabilising it after a period of wobble that made Arsenal a ‘banter club’. The team has gone on to challenge for the Premier League in the last two seasons and is currently the only rival for Liverpool. However, the seven-point gap the Merseysiders have may prove overwhelming for the Gunners to chase down.
Former Chelsea and Liverpool man Joe Cole, via his comments on The Mirror, warned Arteta that winning trophies must be the team’s next agenda. He pointed at the seasons other teams are having and insisted Arsenal should have been in a much stronger position than they currently are.
Cole said, “The disappointing thing is they thought they had put themselves in a position where if Man City were to come off the gas, which they have, they would be the ones to capitalise.
“Particularly with Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool. That will be disappointing to them, but I don’t think you can be disappointed with what’s happened at Arsenal over the last five years. They were in the doldrums for many, many years.”
“This group of players has put them back on the map and made them serious contenders, but they do need to start winning silverware. That’s what it’s all about at a club like Arsenal, you need to win things. That’s the next challenge for this group of players.”
There’s merit in what Cole says here about the need to win trophies, but his take on the season so far needs a lot of perspective. For starters, Arsenal have faced plenty of adversities, as many of the supporters are still unhappy about some of the refereeing decisions against the team, which they believe have cost them at least 4-5 points throughout the campaign.
Then, the big issue was the many injuries they had at different stages of the season. Earlier in the campaign, Arsenal had some unwanted defensive absentees, which forced Arteta to chop and change his backline, and some enforced absentees due to red cards.
The big issue in the next phase has been the injuries to their key attackers, as their two recognised strikers have been ruled out for the remainder of the season. Bukayo Saka has also missed nearly two months now, as he remains sidelined for another month, while Gabriel Martinelli is also in the same boat.
Despite all those visible issues, Arsenal have maintained their gap with Liverpool and stayed alive in the title race. They also finished third in the Champions League table, and while they are out of the two cup competitions, there’s still hope for them to be successful this season.
