Has Mikel Arteta now proven he's the right man for Arsenal?

Has Mikel Arteta now proven he's the right man for Arsenal after a run of strong results?

Arteta


By Jonny Bray

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side is in the middle of an impressive six-game unbeaten run in the league.
Friday's 3-1 win against Aston Villa felt like a big moment for the Spaniard, who has been under increased pressure after a difficult start to the season.


Fans are finally starting to warm to him this season, but he still has many doubters who insist he's too reliant on certain players and that Arsenal cannot beat the top sides.


With the exception of the 3-1 win against Tottenham, all of Arsenal's points have come against sides who the Gunners really should be beating on paper.


Wins against Norwich, Burnley, Spurs, and Villa are obviously welcome, but they're also hardly the most exciting results.


Furthermore, draws against Crystal Palace and Brighton, although hard-fought, is not good enough.
What makes matters worse is that, in both those games, Arsenal were outplayed for large portions of the contests.


So, has Arteta proven he's the right man for Arsenal?  


Have Arsenal just had easier opposition?


If you look at Arsenal's fixtures so far, we've had a relatively easy start to the season.


On paper, we should have beaten Palace, Brighton, and Brentford.


To make matters worse, losing 5-0 to Manchester City is downright humiliating regardless of how good they are.


Friday's win against Aston Villa was crucial, but Dean Smith's team are in poor form.
We should be beating that team.


Part of the problem is that the side seems constantly bogged down in getting wins against sides like Villa, Palace, and Brighton that we often forget that our main rivals should really be City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and United.


It'll be fascinating to see how Arteta gets on as we start to face those sides more regularly after a run of easier games on paper.





Are Arsenal too reliant on individual players?


When Arsenal have the first-choice 11 fit and available, we seem to win games and go on good runs.
However, one or two injuries can completely ruin the balance of the entire team.


Top of this list is Thomas Partey.


The Ghanaian defensive-midfielder has been superb whenever he has played for the Gunners.
However, without him, Arsenal are too exposed at the back and too weak in midfield.


Likewise, if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette aren't firing, then the Arsenal attack is pretty toothless.


This is before Arsenal have even had a significant injury in defence.


We know how weak we are down the left if Kieran Tierney is injured, but the real worry is what happens if we lose Takehiro Tomiyasu on the right side.


While we may have more cover there, it could force Arteta to revert back to a three-man defence.



Does Arteta have a future as Arsenal boss?


To be honest, probably not.

It's hard not to be relieved that he is finally putting a decent run of results together. Still, the point remains that if we get a few injuries, the quality of the side and the number of options Arteta has dramatically decreases.

It's not that difficult to get results with a fully-fit squad and a buzz around the club.

Arteta has proven that he isn't able to get results when the Gunners have their back against the wall.
If we really want to challenge at the top of the table this season, Arteta will have to continue improving.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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