It’s ‘probably the end’ for Arteta if Arsenal don’t beat Norwich – Cole

Joe Williams
Mikel Arteta Arsenal

Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole thinks Mikel Arteta will “probably” get sacked if Arsenal lose to Norwich City next weekend.

The Gunners have made a terrible start to the new season, losing all three of their opening Premier League matches, while they failed to score a goal in the process.

Back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Brentford and Chelsea were briefly forgotten thanks to a 6-0 demolition of West Brom in the Carabao Cup – but Arteta’s men were on the wrong end of a 5-0 hammering the weekend before the international break.


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And now Cole thinks it could be curtains for Arteta at the Emirates Stadium if they fail to beat Norwich a week today.

Cole told Coral: “The future at Arsenal is obviously up in the air. I know they’ve played Chelsea, they played Manchester City, the two best teams, but it’s the manner of both defeats.

“They had all pre-season to prepare for the Brentford game and they got it wrong on the day because they weren’t at it mentally.

“That has happened too much with the Arsenal. That’s not Arteta’s fault. It’s been something that’s just been like damp getting into the woodwork at the club.

“In the two defeats against the big boys, it was like they laid down and died.

“I do like how Arteta has handled the situation. He is hardening as a manager, you can see that in him. So, I think he’s got that. He’s obviously a well-schooled coach because of his work with Pep. He’s a thoughtful guy.

“He’s in the storm at the moment. He has to find a result against Norwich and if he doesn’t beat Norwich, I think it’s probably the end for him.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal technical director Edu described the summer transfer market as “very challenging” after the club brought in six signings.

“We found a very, very challenging window – not just for Arsenal, but for everyone,” Edu told the club’s official website.

“If you see, there are not many teams selling around the world, there are a lot of loans with options to buy, so we did two – Matteo Guendouzi and Dinos Mavropanos – who are in that situation, with an obligation to buy as well but we worked the way the market is presenting to us as well.

“I cannot knock on the door of a club and say, ‘Listen I am selling a player’. You have to do as well what is best for the club.

“Sometimes you have to change a little bit of the direction, when you have some ideas to sell a player but it is not possible and then you have to create an opportunity to sell in the future.

“Then you loan the player and see, the way we did with Joe Willock. That is a good example for us, he went on loan, played and then the market saw a bit more and came to buy. Let’s see, maybe the next window we may be in a better position in terms of selling, but right now that is our reality.”