This kind of post will challenge Mikel Arteta to try all his possibilities and not just give arsenal fans EPL trophy but also break the jinx of winning the UEFA champions league title.
A fan who felt arsenal have not been up to task when it comes to trophy challenge wrote;
Over the past 20 years, since Arsenal's Invincible season of 2003/2004, Arsenal has been the least successful team out of all the big teams in the whole of Europe.
Interestingly and correlatively, in those same 20 years, Arsenal also made the least number of managerial appointments. In that period, Arsenal had only three managers, a stark contrast to their peers:
Real Madrid – 14
Barcelona – 11
Bayern Munich – 12
Liverpool – 7
Chelsea – 16
Manchester City – 5
AC Milan – 13
Juventus – 9
Manchester United – 8 and
Inter Milan – 16
All of whom enjoyed more success in the same period.
The Success of Quick Managerial Changes
It is a fact that the success of a team depends largely on who is the manager. One key factor contributing to their sustained success is their willingness to change managers when necessary. That is why Real Madrid sacked Ancelotti and Zidane was able to record tremendous achievements using the same set of players Ancelotti had.
Real Madrid’s ruthless sacking of managers like Ancelotti in favor of Zidane brought them multiple Champions League titles. Chelsea, under Roman Abramovich, became a serial winner due to frequent managerial changes, understanding that sometimes a change at the top is necessary to reignite a team’s fortunes. Other clubs like Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Manchester City have similarly benefited from managerial changes, while Arsenal has remained tethered to a philosophy of stability, which has proven to be largely an unsustainable approach, if you want to be successful. So why is it only Arsenal who believe that what works for other teams wouldn’t work for them? I introduce you to the concept of blind loyalty.
Blind loyalty to underperforming managers
During the period when Arsenal had the opportunity to act decisively and improve, the club missed out on two managers who could have turned their fortunes around—Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. At the time, only Arsenal, Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund played a similar style of football in the whole of Europe.
The style focused on ball retention and passing. Both managers, known for their ability to build successful teams without relying on excessive spending, were natural fits for Arsenal. But due to the club’s blind loyalty to Arsène Wenger, who had led the club to many successes in the past, Arsenal failed to act. Klopp joined Liverpool, and Tuchel moved to Chelsea, where they both found success, leaving Arsenal to wonder what could have been. The same is playing out with Mikel Arteta now, with some section of the fans joining the bandwagon to be blindly loyal to him, just like they did with Arsene Wenger, and later realized it was a grave mistake. From all indications, Mikel Arteta is not the manager that would bring in the success at Arsenal.
He is a quality manager, but not at the level that would bring silverware. Perhaps Arteta would be here for another 5 years, for a cumulative 10 years in charge before Arsenal realizes they have to sack him, and by that time, the rest of the teams have recorded more successes.
Even the abysmal Ten Hag was more successful than Mikel Arteta in a fewer number of years. So why are most of the fans blindly loyal? I introduce the concept of “plastic fan”.
The Myth of the 'Plastic Fan'
Of every team in Europe, only Arsenal fans use the term – Plastic fan. It was coined by the loyal supporters of Arsene Wenger to ridicule those who dared to call out the underperformance happening under him. Even the most successful football club in the world, Real Madrid, don’t use that phrase on their fans, and yes, they complain way more than Arsenal fans and have changed managers a lot, which has brought them huge successes.
Plastic fan is the manipulative weapon used on Arsenal fans to make them get accustomed to mediocrity. It has worked so far and kudos to whoever coined the phrase. Arsenal now have a great multitude of fans who believe that supporting an underperforming player and manager is the ultimate reason you are a fan. Their minds have been worked on to see supporting their team from that perspective and they are quick to throw the phrase at anyone who is genuinely criticizing the underperformance of the team. The phrase gives them a sense of superiority, not knowing that they are in fact victims of years long abuse. .
This manipulation has created a generation of fans who have become accustomed to mediocrity, believing that supporting an underperforming team or manager is somehow a noble act.
The Road Ahead for Arsenal
Despite the growing evidence that Mikel Arteta may not be the answer, Arsenal seems poised to continue down a path of blind loyalty. It may take years for the club to admit that Arteta’s tenure has been unsuccessful, just as it took years for the club to part ways with Wenger. In the meantime, other teams will continue to evolve and progress, while Arsenal remains stuck in the past, hoping that loyalty will eventually lead to success. I wouldn’t be surprised that Arne Slot and in the incoming Amorin would recover successes and silverware for their teams while Arteta will still be in a job because he will keep riding on the blind loyalty that Arsene Wenger has made the club accustomed to
Only time will tell, but if Arsenal doesn’t start questioning its blind loyalty to underperforming managers, it will continue to fall further behind its competitors. We await how the sustained failure will unfold under Mikel Arteta, not if it will happen.
My next post on this particular issue will be on May 25, 2025, which is the last day of the 2024/2025 premier league season.
As Arsenal fan what do you think about this?
0 Comments