No matter what happens with the rest of this season, I hope the Mikel Arteta-Arsenal relationship brings back an era of patience in soccer. In a modern game that has become a microcosm of society's decreasing attention span, owners and fans no longer have the patience to see a manager succeed.
They would rather have instant microwave pizza than cook a gourmet meal.
What if I told you a Premier League team that finished in the top 4 for five straight years and won two FA Cups in that period fired their old manager and hired a new manager that finished 11th, 2nd, then 11th again with no trophies to show for it? What would the fate of that manager be? Modern clubs would probably fire him after the fans demanded his resignation. Well, that anecdote I gave you is the start of Sir Alex Ferguson's career with Manchester United. It took Ferguson four years as United manager to win a FA Cup trophy and seven years to win a league trophy.
Would anyone have that type of patience now? I suspect the answer is no, and that is the problem.
Too many clubs are looking for short-term fixes to long-term problems. It is the equivalence of placing a band-aid over an open gash rather than taking it to the hospital. And you, the fan, are a part of the problem too. Fanbases have become far too impatient, and any extended turbulence will result in a significant portion of the club asking for the manager's head. Many of the same Arsenal fans supporting Arsenal's push to the Premier League trophy were flying the #ArtetaOut banners at the stadium and tweeting the hashtag on social media in December of 2020 when the club was in 15th place, just a year into his tenure.
The most worthy projects take time to build; sports history tells us so.
Managers like Pep Guardiola are an exception. The reality is if you want a Klopp, Ferguson, or Wenger at your club, you have to be willing to give them the time and unwavering support they need to build the team they need. Hopefully, the rise of Mikel Arteta will bring back the resurgence of patience with coaches at the highest level of soccer.
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