Arteta poised for The Arsenal sack thanks to Andrea Berta and Liverpool
Story by Will Ford
“We are going to make it happen,” Arteta vowed to Arsenal fans in May when reflecting on a fifth trophyless campaign on the bounce, a third consecutive second-placed finish in the Premier League and a Champions semi-final.
The ultimate Next Season manager knows 2025/26 has to be the pay-off and that only one of the two big trophies will do on the back of a promised “big” summer transfer window which Andrea Berta is in the process of delivering to plug holes in and strengthen an already very skilled and experienced squad.
The striker plight looks to be over, with the long-drawn-out chase of Viktor Gyokeres almost as boring as ‘the need for a Proper Striker’ chat itself, and although 5,183 pathetic and heartless Arsenal fans may disagree with his signing, Arteta has got a winger he ‘really pushed for’ in Noni Madueke.
Martin Zubimendi has arrived to form what everyone expects to be a midfield trio with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, which is about as good as it gets assuming Zubimendi can adapt to the Premier League and Odegaard rediscovers something approaching his best form. Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino and Christian Norgaard are there to provide cover and competition, while Eberechi Eze may yet join too.
Cristhian Mosquera is set to arrive from Valencia to add to what was already the finest collection of defenders in the Premier League, while Kepa Arrizabalaga will be one of the best No.2s as understudy to arguably the best No.1 in David Raya.
Even if Eze doesn’t arrive and they fail to get a deal over the line for Rodrygo or an alternative marquee left winger, Arteta will have two quality players for every position and therefore a squad built to cope with the injuries he blamed for their struggles last season.
His interminable excuses will fall on the deaf ears of an increasingly entitled fanbase and the rest of the football community, who may never have disliked Arsenal more despite admiring the quality and character of many of the players, thanks to a resentment medley featuring but not limited to the abhorrent fandom of what feels like a majority, the way they now call themselves The Arsenal and the elephant that wasn’t just in the room but played 52 fing games for them last season* .
He’s far from alone in this, but Arteta’s become the world-leader in blaming the uncontrollables – injuries, the schedule, referees, VAR, the ball, the weather – and we wait with bated breath for the tell-tale sack-preceding comparison between summer spends after an already far superior Liverpool broke their transfer record once, if not twice, ahead of being almost out of reach by Christmas.
The need for a net-spend excuse in order to explain how an invigorated Chelsea have pushed them down to third would be a chef’s kiss peak Arteta moment for all the reasons – including it immediately negating the Liverpool logic – though we may be asking for too much there. But after Arne Slot and Richard Hughes followed the 2002 Sir Alex Ferguson blueprint, it really does feel as though “it’s now a case of who will come second”.
But Liverpool having better footballers than Arsenal won’t wash as an excuse and the ‘you can’t blame us we gave it everything’ line he rolls out when everyone’s fit and there’s no wind to speak of won’t either. Berta has handed Arteta a finished puzzle – it’s not going to get better than this. If he can’t make the final push in 2025/2026 then he never will; he’ll be out on his ear as the club looks to placate trophy-hungry players seeking an exit by hiring a manager who can get the job done.
Arteta said “I feel goosebumps” when looking forward to the coming season, but with Gooner fingers poised over hashtag keys while a growing anti-Arsenal band have their favourite knives sharpened, we’re not sure whether that is indeed “excitement” he’s feeling or fear.
