ARSENAL manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that he is resigned to being sacked and is not too concerned about it in the light of the dreadful start his team has made to the current 2020/21 English Premier League season.
By far the English team with the largest Nigerian following, Arsenal have made their worst start to the league since 1981 with just 13 points from 10 matches. Sitting 14th in the 20-team table, Arsenal lost their latest home game on Sunday, losing 1-2 to Wolverhampton Wanderers, in what was their fifth loss of the season.
Following the Gunners’ third successive Premier League defeat, talk of Arteta getting the sack has surfaced but the manager has brushed it all aside, saying he is focusing on the task at hand. Arsenal’s form has not been helped by their lack of bite in front of goal with skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a shadow of the player he was last season.
On Sunday, defender Gabriel’s first-half goal against Wolves was their first in open play in the Premier League in six games. However, they ended up losing the match a year to the day that Arteta’s predecessor Unai Emery was sacked.
Spaniard Arteta, 38, who previously served under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, said he will not be distracted by questions over his own future. He is now hoping that his team can end its poor run by gaining bragging rights in the north London derby against table-topping Tottenham Hotspur this Sunday.
Arteta said: “It’s something that the day I decided to be a coach I know that one day I will be sacked or leave the football club. I don’t know if it’s the day after I sign my contract, in a month’s time, a year’s time or six months’ time.
I never worry about it. My only concern is to get the best out of the players, give the best possible service to the club and become better and better. I know, I repeat, in this profession, one day I will get the sack or leave but I don’t know when that is going to happen.”
