Arsenal face the Toffees this Saturday in a must-win game if they are to keep the pressure on Liverpool at the Premier League summit. The Gunners suffered a slip-up at Fulham last weekend, with a 1-1 draw seeing the Reds remain six points clear at the top with a game in hand.
Any points dropped against Everton at the Emirates Stadium would be catastrophic - leaving too great a deficit for Arteta's side to overturn - given they've narrowly missed out on being crowned champions for the past two years.
But even though falling short a third time would be heartbreaking for the Arsenal fans and players, it is worth taking a step back to reflect on just how different things were for the north Londoners when they faced Everton almost exactly four years ago.
On December 19, 2020, a fresh-faced Arteta, less than a year into his tenure, was staring straight down the barrel at his first managerial sacking. His mishmash side, consisting of the likes of Nicolas Pepe, Eddie Nketiah, Dani Ceballos and Willian, made the trip to Goodison Park to face Carlo Ancelotti's Everton.
Already floundering near the relegation zone, Arsenal were beaten 2-1 thanks to a Rob Holding own goal and Yerry Mina's header. It marked a run of just one win and seven defeats in 10 league matches for Arteta, dating back to October 17, 2020, when his side mustered only four goals.
But with the inexperienced Spaniard under increasing pressure, none other than Jamie Carragher leapt to his defence at half-time during the Everton clash. When asked for his opinion on Arteta, the Sky Sports pundit urged the Arsenal hierarchy to give him more time, instead blasting the club's past recruitment.
"For [Arsenal] to get back to where they want to be, they will have to go through a lot of pain and they will do," said the former Liverpool centre-back. "A couple of signings they made this season, Gabriel [Magalhaes], [Thomas] Partey, they could be a big part of Arsenal for years to come.
"But they need a few more players in the January transfer window. If Arteta can get six or seven players in then he can be judged on the job that he's doing. The recruitment has been shocking, absolutely shocking the last few years for Arsenal." It's fair to say now that Carragher was correct.
Arsenal enjoyed a sudden upturn in form on Boxing Day thanks to the introduction of academy star Emile Smith Rowe, and beat Chelsea 3-1. Their fortunes soon changed as a run of results saw them recover and finish in eighth place.
Arteta's project then took considerable strides in the summer of 2021 with the signings of Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard, and Takehiro Tomiyasu. At the end of the 2021/22 campaign, they missed out on Champions League football by two points to rivals Tottenham, a lesson they would quickly learn and grow from.
Since then, Arteta’s detailed coaching, tactics and ability to bring in top talent has turned a decaying football club into a force once more, having returned to Champions League football and only missed out on a first league title in 20 years last season by two points.
0 Comments