6 days ago
11 Former professional player, Stan Collymore, isn’t backward in coming forward with a forthright opinion, and this time he’s taken aim at Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta.
The Spaniard will have hoped that the 2024/25 season would finally be the one where the Gunners would land a longed-for Premier League title.
Arteta’s record of improving players torn to shreds
However, after just 11 games, the North London outfit already find themselves nine points behind leaders Liverpool after injuries and suspensions saw them drop points in a number of fixtures.
Notwithstanding that, Collymore just doesn’t think Arteta is very good at his job.
“I immediately thought Mikel Arteta was full of waffle and modern coaching tricks when he was handed the manager’s job at Arsenal,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“[…] How many players has Arteta actually brought in that were seen to be title-winning level players, and how many of them has he made significantly better? Ben White? Kai Havertz? Thomas Partey? Declan Rice?
Mikel Arteta has been slammed by Stan Collymore. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images“What about Martin Odegaard? He was the guy at age 15 at Real Madrid that was meant to go on and be a world beater anyway, so surely he would have got to this point of maturity whereby he has an impact on somebody’s first team.
“The classic question is how many players in the Arsenal squad has Mikel Arteta turned from average to good, good to very good, very good to great? And if you compare that with Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Unai Emery and others, he doesn’t come across very well at all.

 
“Forget results, because results come as a consequence of you making those players better.
“It’s not about whether he’s a nice guy, it’s not whether he’s fresh and young or he’s from the Pep Guardiola Barcelona school of coaching… How many players has Arteta actually made significantly better and, Arsenal fans, I want you to answer that honestly.”
Collymore’s broadside isn’t the only thing Arteta should be concerned about either.
One player wants to leave the club in 2025, and a key starter has injury concerns, adding to the manager’s woe.
