Arsenal fans fear Arteta could be the next Ozil after new deal – but long-term contract could be GOOD for club this time

WHEN Arsenal confirmed Mikel Arteta’s new deal with Champions League qualification still up in the air, eyebrows were raised. Now they look set to miss out on a top-four finish and nobody is shouting louder about the folly than Piers Morgan, who has been calling for Arteta to be sacked for months. Morgan’s knee-jerk reaction […]

WHEN Arsenal confirmed Mikel Arteta’s new deal with Champions League qualification still up in the air, eyebrows were raised.

Now they look set to miss out on a top-four finish and nobody is shouting louder about the folly than Piers Morgan, who has been calling for Arteta to be sacked for months.

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Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has seen his side fall out of the top four after back-to-back defeats[/caption]

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Germany star Mesut Ozil never lived up to expectations at Arsenal[/caption]

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Morgan’s knee-jerk reaction to Monday’s defeat at Newcastle struck a chord with many fans who fear they will be lumbered with their boss – as they once were with Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But the Gunners knew what they were doing with the contract announcement 12 days ago – they were showing complete faith in their young manager no matter where the team finishes this season.

And by tying Arteta down for three years they have avoided speculation that could undermine plans to overhaul their paper-thin squad this summer.

So if the Kroenkes and technical director Edu believe in Arteta, agreeing that new £8.5million-a-year deal was the right thing to do.

Now Arteta must learn from his mistakes – like allowing six players to leave in the January without bringing in any replacements.

He has said the players wanted to leave but they were all under contract and could easily have been forced to stay.

As soon as a player questions his lack of game time, Arteta’s reaction is always to get rid of them.

That approach has left him with just 18 outfield players, including the injury prone Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

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It meant that when injuries, suspensions and dips in form inevitably struck, the team has been left well short.

And while Arsenal weakened their squad in January, bitter rivals Spurs immeasurably strengthened theirs by signing Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur. And look who is sitting fourth now.

Missing out on the Champions League will leave Arsenal with a hefty £50million hole in their summer budget – which is sure to make them less competitive next season.

It will also hinder their chances of signing the calibre of player needed to make them title challengers again.

It is fair to say that just keeping pace with a Spurs side boasting Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, and finishing fifth, has exceeded most people’s pre-season expectations.

But right now it just feels like a massive opportunity has been missed.

Arsenal have now lost an embarrassing 26 league games during Arteta’s two full seasons in charge, and failure to improve in the next campaign means his new deal might not spare him the axe.