Do Arsenal always collapse in April under Arteta?
A look across the last four seasons suggests the popular version of Arsenal’s run-ins is far lazier than the reality.Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesAfter Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth l...
Do Arsenal always collapse in April under Arteta? A look across the last four seasons suggests the popular version of Arsenal’s run-ins is far lazier than the reality. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images After Arsenal ’s defeat to Bournemouth last weekend there has been a lot of ‘dialogue’.
The fact that many of the sensible comments have come from pundits who are paid to be contrary tells you a lot about where we are as a fanbase. I was taken aback by the strength of the anti- Arteta feeling in the wake of the defeat that left Arsenal top of the Premier League with six games remaining. Sure, it wasn’t ideal, and the team looked awful, but demanding Arteta’s removal seemed to me a rather ridiculous thing to be saying.
The argument seems to be this – “If Arsenal fail to win the title this season they will have finished second in the last four seasons and that proves that Mikel Arteta cannot get them across the line. Arsenal are always awful in April when it matters. ” That sounds reasonable enough on its face, but scratch at it just a little and it throws up more questions than answers about how people remember things.
22/23 Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images Arsenal weren’t expected to be Premier League title contenders in 22/23 and it was a surprise to everyone that they were. Arsenal’s season split neatly into a blistering start, a strong mid-season, then a wobble in April before a mixed but solid finish in May. A run of three draws led up to a showdown against City in Manchester on 26 April that saw Arsenal get a 4-1 thumping.