The Gunners were dumped out of the domestic cup competitions by Newcastle United and Manchester United respectively in the space of just three weeks - and with their strike force of Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz suffering from injury in that same time span, it means that their Premier League title bid has also derailed, seeing leaders Liverpool go 15 points clear with just 10 games in which to catch the Reds.
Romano: Mikel Arteta Remains 'Key Part' of Arsenal Project
The Gunners boss will not be sacked in the coming months
Gabriel Martinelli celebrating for Arsenal vs Liverpol EFL Cup 2019
As a result, questions have been asked of Arteta and his ability to win trophies. Only taking the FA Cup in his first season, he's yet to win another major accolade, barring the Community Shield twice, and the Champions League this season will be his final chance at silverware - assuming that Arne Slot's Reds wrap up the top-flight.
Arsenal's Premier League statistics - Division squad ranking
Stats
Output
Squad rank
Wins
15
=2nd
Losses
3
2nd
Shots taken per game
13.9
7th
Shots conceded per game
9.8
=2nd
xG
53.59
5th
However, Romano has revealed that, despite external pressure on Arteta's future, there is no notion of his sacking amongst the club's board - with the Spaniard still seen as 'key' to the Gunners project, having taken the club from Europa League hopefuls to title challengers three years in a row in the space of half a decade. He wrote in his GIVEMESPORT newsletter:
"Yes, all under control at Arsenal and with Mikel Arteta as key part of the project. Nothing will change."
Arteta has taken Arsenal's squad to new levels in his time in north London. The former Gunners player had to deal with an ageing squad on big wages with diminishing value - but with the likes of William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and David Raya, they have a spine of some extremely talented young players that they can rely on for years to come, with high values in terms of the transfer market.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Mikel Arteta has won 162 of the 275 games he's taken control of Arsenal.
If the Gunners can spend a huge amount of money in the summer to strengthen other key areas, that could see them really challenge for the title with an extended run of form in the Premier League.
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