Mikel Arteta shrugs off questions over his Arsenal future amid worst start to a season in nearly 40 years

Mikel Arteta insists the spectre of losing his job at Arsenal has never held any fears for him as he presides over the club’s worst start to a league season since 1981-82.

A 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers was Arsenal’s fifth loss of the season and leaves 14th in the table, eight points from the bottom and the same tally from the top of the league. It represents a remarkable change in fortunes for Arteta, who won the FA Cup and Community Shield in August and delighted his superiors by rebuilding bonds between the club, its fans and players.

Indeed such is the esteem that the Arsenal hierarchy hold Arteta in that in September they gave him a de facto promotion from head coach to manager with a vastly increased remit that included a significant role in the club’s transfer business. 

Yet a year to the day after Unai Emery was sacked with Arsenal eighth in the Premier League, Arteta’s ability to address the key issues plaguing Arsenal – particularly chance creation and service for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – is at the very least being questioned by many supporters.

Arteta said in his press conference that he has been prepared for that since he took over on December 21 last year and that his focus is solely on reviving his faltering team.

“It’s something that the day I decided to be a coach I know that one day I will be sacked or leave the football club,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the day after I sign my contract, in a month’s time, a year’s time or six months’ time. I never worry about it.

“My only concern is to get the best out of the players, give the best possible service to the club and become better and better. I know, I repeat, in this profession, one day I will get the sack or leave but I don’t know when that is going to happen.”

Arteta, who will be without key midfield signing Thomas Partey for “the next few games” after a setback in his recovery to a thigh injury, has seen his side drop points to Aston Villa, Leeds United and Wolverrhampton Wanderers in the weeks since they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

In total they have lost five of their 10 league games so far this season already half of their total number of defeats in a 2019/20 season that at the time seemed destined to be the worst for a generation.

“We lost games in many different ways but at the end we lost them. That’s our reality,” Arteta acknowledged. “After a few more games [the table] will tell you where you are and how much you deserve.

“We have to improve clearly, we are not nearly good enough for this football club and we have to change that dramatically.”