Stan Collymore. This is the striker you couldn’t help but notice if you followed English football in the 1990s. Now Collymore works as a critical football talker and analyst, this time asking the question “no one dares” at Arsenal.
Arsenal emerged unscathed from the season opener at Old Trafford with a 0-1 win and three points, but it was anything but a title contender who showed up against United. Then came the 5-0 thrashing of Leeds, but was followed by a tough defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. Stan Collymore can’t understand why the Spanish Arsenal manager doesn’t get more trouble.
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“I think it’s quite remarkable that Mikel Arteta is not under pressure at Arsenal. Every season I’ve written this column, I always say at some point in the season: When will the criticism of Mikel Arteta come? And the only reason I can think of why he’s not being criticised is because he has this uncanny ability to go into his next press conference with a big, radiant smile, as if he’s just knocked out a team that has beaten Real Madrid 6-0,” Collymore begins to Caughtoffside.
“It’s remarkable. At every press conference, he looks confident. And I think to myself it’s quite bold for a manager who has only won one major trophy. The reality is that if he was a golfer, and we kept talking about him as an elite golfer, but in the last five years he hadn’t won a major, one would say: well, he’s not an elite golfer. And I think you can say the same about him as an elite manager,” the former Liverpool striker adds.
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“From my perspective, considering the performance against Liverpool, which was lukewarm at best and without credibility, I’m really surprised that at this early stage of the season we haven’t seen big names being called up to take his job. And it’s almost as if it’s a matter of course now, because he wasn’t sacked in the first couple of years, that he can now be manager of Arsenal for the next 10 years and finish in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd, 3rd, 4th place, and it will be fine, Collymore grumbles.
“When you look at Pep Guardiola last season, it came to a point where people rightly asked if this was the end for Pep? Ange Postecoglou won the Europa League and was fired. What makes Mikel Arteta’s work at Arsenal more exceptional, other than stabilising the ship and adding some progression? So for me, it’s very simple. He should be under pressure from all sides this season, especially after the Liverpool game. And if he doesn’t deliver at the end of this season, it’s time to go,” the former Premier League star concludes.
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