{"id":2581,"date":"2026-04-14T05:13:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=2581"},"modified":"2026-04-14T05:13:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:13:40","slug":"arteta-under-pressure-could-arsenal-really-sack-their-manager-if-the-season-collapses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=2581","title":{"rendered":"Arteta under pressure: Could Arsenal really sack their manager if the season collapses?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div class=\"author\">\n<figure class=\"author-thumb\">\n                                                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-image-size=\"not_specified\" class=\"\" width=\"112\" height=\"112\" alt=\"Robin Bairner\" src=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/footballcritic\/kztnrlsgh85ogtiqtjxb\/w=112,h=112,quality=75,fit=cover,format=auto\"\/>                                                    <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<figure class=\"large-img\">\n                                                <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/56314b0b-42e5-4d87-92fe-dda15a97b400\/width=1200,height=675,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 960px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/56314b0b-42e5-4d87-92fe-dda15a97b400\/width=640,height=360,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/56314b0b-42e5-4d87-92fe-dda15a97b400\/width=375,height=211,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 320px)\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-image-size=\"retina\" class=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" alt=\"Mikel Arteta, Arsenal\" src=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/56314b0b-42e5-4d87-92fe-dda15a97b400\/w=1200,h=675,quality=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption><figcaption>\u00a9 IMAGO <\/figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Arsenal are feeling the heat after three defeats in four games have put Mikel Arteta\u2019s dreams of a quadruple on ice as the Gunners face the sudden prospect of finishing the season without a trophy.<\/p>\n<p><center class=\"p-1 light-grey-bg\">Article continues under the video<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Only a month ago, everything looked rosy at the Emirates Stadium, with hushed whispers of the possibility of a clean sweep of trophies even starting to gain volume. Fast forward three weeks, and suddenly the term \u2018bottle\u2019 is taboo once again around the North London club.<\/p>\n<p>Beaten by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, dumped out of FA Cup by Championship side Southampton and surprisingly beaten at home by Bournemouth in the Premier League, Arsenal are suddenly facing a season that could be historic for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n<p>Only a narrow victory over Sporting CP in the Champions League \u2013 achieved by a late stoppage-time strike from Kai Havertz \u2013 offers Arteta\u2019s side anything in the win column over the course of the last month.<\/p>\n<p>For the Spaniard on a personal level, this wobble has come at a particularly delicate time, during <b>contract negotiations with the club<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>Such is the fickle nature of football, though, could Arteta find himself sacked if Arsenal\u2019s collapse continues and they miss out on silverware?<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mikel Arteta admits Bournemouth defeat hurts but is adamant players must fight for the title \ud83d\udcaa \ud83c\udfc6\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cPvrVfBxA3c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<h2>Arsenal well placed for a double \u2013 but the pressure is on<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s only right to point out that, despite recent results, things still look rosy for the Gunners. They are six points clear of Man City at the top of the Premier League, and while Pep Guardiola\u2019s side have a game in hand against Burnley, they will likely have to win all of their remaining seven games to stand a chance of pipping Arteta\u2019s side.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal also have a favourable draw in the Champions League, with a potential semi-final against Barcelona or Atletico Madrid looming.<\/p>\n<p>Lifting either of these trophies would represent a historic payoff for the club. But the margins at elite-level football are slim, and failure will have pundits once again calling for Arteta\u2019s head.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of last term, Arsenal legend Paul Merson told <i><a title=\"Sky Sports\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/football\/news\/15205\/13370710\/paul-mersons-warning-for-mikel-arteta-top-two-by-christmas-or-arsenal-will-go-for-someone-else\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Sky Sports<\/b><\/a><\/i>: \u201cIf you get to four seasons (without the Premier League), you can\u2019t keep going.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s not as easy as people think to win something and Arsenal keep falling short. Sometimes people fall short and it just becomes normal. That&#8217;s a worry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&#039;&#039;Arsenal are scared&#039;&#039; | Tim Sherwood on Gunners &#039;bottle&#039; and Pep Guardiola &#039;smelling blood&#039;\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BJRLTPEKhFI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>He was not alone. Jens Lehmann told <i>TalkSport<\/i>: \u201cArteta has to win next year. This year, they could have won (the Premier League), Man City dropped a little bit, Liverpool replaced them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNext year he has to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Externally, at least, the pressure will be huge, particularly after Arsenal got into such a strong position.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-table mb-4\">\n<h2 class=\"h4\">Arsenal &#038; Man City&#8217;s remaining Premier League fixtures<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Date<\/th>\n<th>Matchday<\/th>\n<th>Arsenal Opponent<\/th>\n<th>Venue<\/th>\n<th>Man Opponent<\/th>\n<th>Venue<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>TBC<\/td>\n<td>31<\/td>\n<td\/>\n<td\/>\n<td>Crystal Palace<\/td>\n<td\/><\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>19 Apr 2026<\/td>\n<td>33<\/td>\n<td>Man City<\/td>\n<td>away<\/td>\n<td>Arsenal<\/td>\n<td>home<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>22 Apr 2026<\/td>\n<td>34<\/td>\n<td\/>\n<td\/>\n<td>Burnley<\/td>\n<td>away<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>25 Apr 2026<\/td>\n<td>34<\/td>\n<td>Newcastle<\/td>\n<td>home<\/td>\n<td\/>\n<td\/><\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2 May 2026<\/td>\n<td>35<\/td>\n<td>Fulham<\/td>\n<td>home<\/td>\n<td\/>\n<td\/><\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4 May 2026<\/td>\n<td>35<\/td>\n<td\/>\n<td\/>\n<td>Everton<\/td>\n<td>away<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>9 May 2026<\/td>\n<td>36<\/td>\n<td\/>\n<td\/>\n<td>Brentford<\/td>\n<td>home<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>10 May 2026<\/td>\n<td>36<\/td>\n<td>West Ham<\/td>\n<td>away<\/td>\n<td\/>\n<td\/><\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>17 May 2026<\/td>\n<td>37<\/td>\n<td>Burnley<\/td>\n<td>home<\/td>\n<td>Bournemouth<\/td>\n<td>away<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>24 May 2026<\/td>\n<td>38<\/td>\n<td>Crystal Palace<\/td>\n<td>away<\/td>\n<td>Aston Villa<\/td>\n<td>home<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Arsenal\u2019s Arteta sack stance revealed<\/h2>\n<p>Arsenal\u2019s board are ready to ignore the noise and base Arteta\u2019s efforts on the body of work he has put together since taking over a club that was in freefall when he took command in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>That means he will be offered his new contract, though obviously his negotiating position will be significantly weakened without a major trophy.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal expert Steve Kay told <b>FootballTransfers<\/b>: \u201cArsenal will never sack Arteta. The only way he\u2019ll leave is if he walks at the end of the season, which, going by the information and conversations I\u2019ve had with people I trust, isn\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe club, as we sit, has Arteta\u2019s stamp all over it. Every season since he\u2019s come to the club, there\u2019s been progress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll the players are Arteta\u2019s players. This season, many of them have signed long-term contracts because of Arteta.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m told that there are no plans to sack him, and his job is safe for the foreseeable as long as he wants it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is also a fear that sacking him could send Arsenal backwards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you think about it, the next manager would have to win the league and the Champions League to beat what Arteta has done up to now &#8211; that\u2019s of course if he doesn\u2019t win both at the end of the season, which is still very, very possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-12 p-0 d-flex image-container\">\n<figure class=\"article-image\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/45c0c7fc-5cd1-407f-024b-c477883e4500\/width=1200,height=674,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 960px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/45c0c7fc-5cd1-407f-024b-c477883e4500\/width=640,height=359,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/45c0c7fc-5cd1-407f-024b-c477883e4500\/width=375,height=211,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 320px)\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-image-size=\"retina\" class=\"lazyload\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Mikel Arteta: Under pressure at Arsenal\" src=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/45c0c7fc-5cd1-407f-024b-c477883e4500\/w=750,h=422,quality=75,fit=cover,format=auto\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption>\u00a9 IMAGO &#8211; Mikel Arteta: Under pressure at Arsenal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2>\u2018Arteta could walk \u2013 that\u2019s not out of the question<\/h2>\n<p>Kay believes that there is no appetite for change within the club, and even if fans push for a managerial change, the only way that Arteta would leave is via resignation \u2013 something that he does not rule out.<\/p>\n<p>In the worst-case scenario for Arsenal \u2013 that they win nothing \u2013 he predicts:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany on social media will be calling for him to be sacked. There will be an outcry for him to go, but Josh Kroenke has no intention of changing him right now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike I said earlier, he could walk &#8211; that\u2019s not out of the question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut even if he did decide to leave, he\u2019d never leave Arsenal without a suitable replacement. And if that person isn\u2019t available, he\u2019d stay until someone suitable is found.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs for possible names, you\u2019re looking at a Luis Enrique or a Xavi, or maybe a Cesc Fabregas if he were to leave Como. Forget anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The message is clear: even if Arsenal falter on all four fronts, Arteta will retain the board\u2019s full confidence.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a9 IMAGO Arsenal are feeling the heat after three defeats in four games have put<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}