Mikel Arteta highlights events five years ago for Arsenal’s steep decline

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Mikel Arteta has sidestepped blame for Arsenal’s current demise, claiming the current situation has been five years in the making as opposed to just the last six months.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash with West Brom, the Spaniard admitted the trend of having missed out on Champions League football for half a decade was worrying, but, something beyond his control.

Arsenal face a campaign without Champions League football for the first time in over 20 years after losing their Europa League semi-final to Villarreal. And with the club sat in 9th in the Premier League, even the brand-new UEFA Conference League looks a ways off for the Gunners.

When asked about the club’s current trend, Arteta said: “It is not as if this process started six months ago. It started five years ago and you can see this trend. This year is not year one. I think a project has its phases and I am telling you we are in a much better position today to be where we want to be very soon if we do what we have to do. But we have to be ruthless. There is no time to waste and there is a lot to do.”

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There are some incredibly worrying scenes at the club at this moment in time, especially with regards to the management on the pitch.

Arteta has talked about being ruthless, however, youngsters like Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock have been starved of first-team action all season long with the manager preferring to use the inconsistent Willian.

Then there are the question marks over the coach’s tactics with the Gunners managing just two shots on target at home in a European semi-final. And if you believe reports, Arteta’s man-management is of a low standard with some players questioning the Spaniard.

However, as mentioned in his quotes, as a whole, the club have been on a steep decline for a while now. From recruitment to the constant switching behind the scenes, the club reeks of mismanagement from board level.

It’s probably why the 39-year-old will find himself in charge at the start of next season. The hierarchy have realised that despite all the flaws, the structure put in place above the manager has seen the decline occur far earlier than his appointment.