The Manager of Arsenal Does Not Owe You the Title

Mikel Arteta took over as manager of Arsenal Football Club in December 2019, replacing Unai Emery, who had replaced Arsène Wenger in May 2018, and took a situation that was not great, but not that bad, and made it much worse.

Emery took Wenger's team and brought it to what Wenger's worst critics lied and said he'd brought it to: Midtable mediocrity. Arteta, who had been one of Wenger's players, took Emery's team and won the 2020 FA Cup. He has now taken the team to 2nd place in the Premier League in 3 straight seasons. In the last 2 seasons, he has taken it to the Quarterfinal and the Semifinal of the UEFA Champions League.

There are alleged Arsenal fans who believe this is not good enough. They turned on Wenger when he stopped "challenging for the title" because he had to pay off the Emirates Stadium debt. They felt entitled to the trophies that Wenger won, and turned on him, without ever thanking him. They gave Emery the benefit of the doubt, even as he alienated and sold off the team's best players. They have not given Arteta the benefit of the doubt.

Now, we are in the Summer transfer window, and, as usual, these people are demanding that the manager "spend some fucking money" on "a world-class striker" who will "win us the title."

Which was done for Olivier Giroud, and again for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and again for Gabriel Jesus. In each case, these same fans turned on them, calling them "shit."

Give me a break.

The manager of Arsenal does not owe you the Premier League title. He does not owe you the Champions League title. He does not owe you the FA Cup. He does not owe you anything other than his best effort.

This is true now under Arteta. It was true under Wenger.

Arteta took an Arsenal team whose honor had been trailed in the dust by those who claimed to be its most ardent fans; and whose best players had been alienated by a buffoon of a manager, who had followed the noblest soul in the sport, Wenger. Arteta took this team and restored it to a place of prominence, at home and abroad.

For those of of you who have shown him the proper respect, I thank you. For those of you who have not, it's time to start.