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Ian Holloway critical of Mikel Arteta’s appointment at Arsenal

Dom Toner

Tue 24 December 2019 9:45, UK

Ian Holloway has delivered a rant about the quality of the current Arsenal team and has also questioned the appointment of Mikel Arteta as manager.

The Gunners have now replaced Unai Emery with Arteta as their full-time manager at the Emirates Stadium.

Arteta begins his reign at the North London club by taking charge for the trip to Bournemouth on Boxing Day in the Premier League.

The 37-year-old previously starrer for the Gunners as a midfielder during his playing career and has now returned in a different capacity.

He’s been schooled in management by working as the assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Arsenal manager to prize him away to hand him his first senior role.

Holloway is not convinced by Arteta’s arrival at Arsenal and feels it could be the wrong decision.

“I think he’s under massive scrutiny and he’s always going to be compared to Pep Guardiola and he certainly isn’t Pep,”

“I think they are in trouble so it is a very, very, very, iffy, risky appointment. Everton have made the right choice [with Carlo Ancelotti] but Arsenal haven’t.

“This is the worst Arsenal team I’ve seen in two decades, in my opinion. It’s awful. There’s hardly a balance in it. They can’t defend. I don’t know what they are trying to do or how they are playing. He’s got a huge job on his hands and I don’t know who makes the signings.”

TBR’s View:

It seems way too harsh to write off Arteta before his team have even kicked a ball and it should be recognised he joins with a promising reputation as a young coach.

There is no doubt it’s a gamble to turn to the Spaniard, but all managers need a first break into the game and he’s being thrown straight in at the deep end.

Arteta needs to try turn results around quickly on the pitch, while off the pitch he could do with some help in the transfer market.