Why Man Utd need to copy Arteta and Arsenal to get back to the top
Stefan Bienkowski
- 1 Apr 2022 14:24 BST
- 8 min read
Manchester United seem to be truly bewildered at the thought of hiring a new permanent manager in the summer transfer window.
Although Ralf Rangnick is doing a decent job as interim head coach at the moment, the Old Trafford side are expected to bring in a new tactician before the start of the new Premier League campaign.
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Two names have stood out among the rest: Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag. However the former’s stock has fallen dramatically after a difficult season at Paris Saint-Germain and the latter has yet to prove himself outside of the comforts of Ajax.
Indeed, it seems as though whatever choice Man Utd make in the coming months, a huge amount of risk will be unavoidable.
However, if the club really wants to get back on top, it may have to take a page out of a long-term rival’s book. Arsenal look like they finally have their house in order thanks to Mikel Arteta and there’s a lot Man Utd could learn from the Spanish manager’s approach to fixing the North London side.
The Arteta method
While Arteta has undoubtedly learned his trade as an understudy to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, the former Arsenal midfielder’s real success at the Emirates has come about from his gutting of the club’s old and overly-paid squad.
Six months after taking over, Arteta oversaw the departure of Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Roma, then fellow busted flushes Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis, Sead Kolasinac and, most notably, Mesut Ozil followed him out the door in the following transfer window.
Then, with more rot to cut from the squad, Arteta continued his no-nonsense approach to squad building by moving Ainsley Maitland-Niles on after complaining about game time and then rather dramatically allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave for free in the January transfer window.
Not only has Arteta saved the club a huge amount of money on wages, but he’s also ditched any player that wasn’t willing to fall into line and has now found himself with a squad full of young and impressionable players that will run through walls for him.
And it’s this that Man Utd undoubtedly have to emulate. Not only do the club need a young and exciting manager of their own, but they also need one that will be willing to stand up to senior and over-paid players in the squad and cut them loose if they aren’t willing to fall into line.
Whether it be Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire or Paul Pogba, Man Utd need a manager that will gut this squad and rebuild it around their authority. Which is exactly why the Old Trafford side need their own Arteta to turn things around.
