Arsenal MUST beat Norwich or it is ‘probably the end’ for Mikel Arteta, claims Joe Cole… as pressure ramps up on the under-fire Gunners boss after their horror start to the season
- Joe Cole claims Arsenal must beat Norwich after the international break
- The Gunners are winless in the top flight and sit bottom of the Premier League
- Cole has expressed concern at the manner of Arsenal’s three defeats thus far
- The pundit believes anything other than a win is ‘probably the end’ for Arteta
Joe Cole has claimed that Arsenal must beat Norwich after the international break or else Mikel Arteta risks losing his job, with the pundit opining that the under-fire boss is ‘in the storm at the moment’.
The Gunners have endured a torrid start to the Premier League campaign and are rooted to the bottom of the table having failed to pick up a point, or score a single goal, from 270 minutes of football.
Arteta’s side have looked second best in games against Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City and supporters have grown impatient with the club’s lack of progress under the Spaniard.
Joe Cole (L) says ‘it is probably the end’ for Mikel Arteta (R) if Arsenal do not beat Norwich
Former Chelsea and West Ham star Cole has conceded that the future in North London appears unclear, and believes that anything less than victory over Norwich on September 11 is ‘probably the end’ for Arteta.
He told Coral via Metro: ‘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.
The Gunners have endured a torrid start to the season, losing all three of their league games
Cole said that Arsenal ‘laid down and died’ in their defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea
‘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.’
The former Chelsea and West Ham star says that Arsenal must beat Norwich on September 11
Arteta shouldered the blame for Arsenal’s poor start following their 5-0 hammering at City, revealing that he spends a lot of time reflecting on his decisions.
‘I always said and I’ve been more critical of myself and taking the blame every time only when we’ve had defeats,’ he said.
‘I question myself and I have to try and have the right people around me, look at every decision that I make and change it if I believe we should have done something different.’
