‘Not so well done for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory’: Simon Jordan is unconvinced Mikel Arteta can win a Premier League title at Arsenal, claiming the Gunners boss ‘doesn’t have the particular gear’ to get players to the ‘next level’
- Arsenal have run out of steam in the title race after a titanic battle for top spot
- Simon Jordan has questioned Mikel Arteta’s credentials to win a league title
- Arteta’s ability to coax something more out of a player caused a debate on air
Mikel Arteta‘s credentials as a future Premier League-winning manager have been called into question, with Simon Jordan unsure if the Spaniard has what it takes to get a team over the line.
Arteta has transformed Arsenal from missing out on the top four last season to pushing Manchester City all the way in the title race this time around.
But a recent stutter in form has seen City seize control of that particular race and for Jordan it leaves Arteta with plenty to prove.
‘I worry – to use a Souness-ism – that Arteta is a son-in-law,’ he told talkSPORT.
‘I am not sure he has this particular gear in those narrowing of the eyes that concentrates players’ minds to get them to the next level. Something was lost and it wasn’t just [William] Saliba that didn’t get you past those games.’
Mikel Arteta’s ability to be a Premier League-winning manager has been called into question
Arsenal’s end of season stutter has seen them fall away from main title rival Manchester City
�� “I worry, to use a Souness-ism, that Mikel Arteta’s a son-in-law.”
�� “Their business end of the season was similar to last season’s… snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!”
Simon Jordan isn’t sure Arteta’s the man who will win #AFC the league. pic.twitter.com/fAXdR2yGP1
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) May 16, 2023
Jim White, on air alongside Jordan, challenged his colleague’s view and pointed to Arteta’s ruthless dismissal of squad leader Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
‘That was a courage of conviction moment but then you have that moment when your team needs to do something different to overcome the business end of the season,’ Jordan added.
‘Arsenal’s business end of the season was similar to the business end of the season last year for different reasons.
‘Well done for finishing second in the league. Not so well done for snatching defeat from the joys of victory. Are they going to build on it? Is the next step to win the league? I don’t think it is.’
After a thumping 4-1 win over Leeds, Arsenal went four games without a win and their most recent defeat – a 3-0 humbling at home against Brighton – looks to have sent their title aspirations up in smoke as they sit four points behind Man City with two games remaining.
