Arsenal players have come to the aid of their head coach after speculation his time at Emirates stadium is over.
Mikel Arteta has now overseen the Gunner’s worst start to a league campaign since the 1981-82 season, with Arsenal losing six of their Premier League games – including three in a row at home.
Arteta is approaching a year in charge in North London and has already guided them to FA Cup and Community Shield success.
Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin was the first to back his manager and fellow Spaniard and explained that Arteta is not entirely at fault for the team’s poor run of form.
“We have to, as players, take responsibility for this because I think we all know that Mikel and his coaching team give us all the tools that we need to win all the games.
“He’s not trying to make changes just on the pitch but outside of it, this isn’t something you can do overnight. When you lose a game it’s always very easy to blame the coach. But also when the coach gives us the tools we have to be the ones to step up,” he told beIN Sports.
Bellerin believes that this run of bad results is just a phase and that alongside his teammates, he is improving under Arteta.
“I feel the team has improved massively in so many areas of the game that needed improvement. Even though we’re not doing so great in others, it’s all part of the process.”
The Arsenal manager is not only backed by his players but by his fellow Premier League managers.
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho also backed the Arsenal manager by praising his opponent’s tactics, he said:
“It was a big game in every sense, not just because it was Tottenham-Arsenal. I want to give words, congratulations to Mikel Arteta because he gave us a very difficult game.
“Tactically they were very good, very organised. They gave us problems, problems we were able to resolve. They have a good tactical courage and incredible spirit. They are a good team and he is a good coach.”
After the league resumption, the German was frozen out completely by the Arsenal boss and appears unlikely to play for the Gunners again.
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The midfielder looked to twitter to take a swipe at Arteta, posting a picture of himself at Emirates Stadium last year with the crowd behind him, saying: “The feeling of having fans behind you… #grateful #bestfans #hardtimes.”
In the absence of the 30-year-old, Arsenal have lost creativity in the midfield, which many fans are unhappy about and point the finger towards the Gunner’s boss.
Arteta has transformed his team’s back line, which was what he was brought in to do, but Arsenal fans are still hoping their manager can present better results.
