Honesty from Arsenal inner circle as Mikel Arteta told he needs to ‘learn super quick’
Per Mertesacker believes Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has no choice but to “learn super quick” on the job if he is to turn the toiling club’s fortunes around.
In an honest interview on Youtube the Arsenal Academy manager has spoken about the club’s current plight and admitted another month or two of similar results will end in Arteta losing his job.
The Gunners have started the season in disappointing form. After losing each of their first three Premier League games, the Gunners have since secured two narrow 1-0 victories against minnows Norwich City and Burnley.
Spanish boss Arteta, 39, in his first managerial role continues to divide opinion at The Emirates. After a well-respected grounding under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Arteta was tipped to get the club flying again.
However, so far after almost two years in the post, some fans are starting to lose patience with the former Gunners midfielder.
Winning the FA Cup in his first season bought Arteta some time. But subsequent eighth-placed finishes in the Premier League have seen major questions asked of Arteta.
And Mertesacker, who works alongside Arteta in developing the club’s youth players, thinks his timeframe to get things right could be running out.
“He presented himself as someone who wants to lead us into these difficult moments so I could only agree but if I had known, how he reacts to difficult moments. Arteta needs to learn fairly quickly, let’s be honest,” Mertesacker told The Beautiful Game podcast.
“He needs to learn super, super quick because in football, and being manager of Arsenal football club, if you lose three games on the spin, you are in trouble.
“You cannot have one or two moments of this, that’s the reality of the game and the football club.”
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€45m price tag on Youssef En-Nesyri
Elsewhere, Sevilla will demand €45m (£38.5m) for Arsenal and West Ham target Youssef En-Nesyri in January, according to reports.
Both Premier League sides are looking for attacking reinforcements, but for different reasons. Arsenal are heavily reliant on ageing stars Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette up front.
It’s no surprise therefore that they are scouting long-term replacements who will provide a similar amount of goals.
West Ham, meanwhile, have just one senior striker in Michail Antonio on their books. They sold £45m flop Sebastien Haller to Ajax earlier this year and are yet to bring anyone else in.
David Moyes’ side attempted to land En-Nesyri earlier this year but saw their bid knocked back.
According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), Sevilla will only accept bids worth £38.5m or more in the next transfer window.
They will justify the 24-year-old’s price tag by referring to his goalscoring record. He notched an impressive 18 goals in La Liga during 2020-21 and Sevilla now view him as a ‘premium’ forward.
READ MORE: Predictions: Arsenal to get better of Tottenham
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