Arsenal chiefs urged to be 'calm' as Arteta searches for winning formula

Arsenal have been urged to show patience with Mikel Arteta and allow him the time and space to build a successful team.

A 3-1 win over Chelsea on Saturday took some of the heat off manager Arteta, after it had been building during a grim seven-game winless streak in the Premier League.

But matches against Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday and West Brom on Saturday are just as important, and should Arsenal slip back to losing ways then Arteta will again come in for scrutiny.

He is a year into his Arsenal coaching career, with the former captain looking to rebuild after Unai Emery's reign proved a disappointing follow-on from the Arsene Wenger era.

Emery's long-serving assistant Juan Carlos Carcedo also left Arsenal as the club decided to clear out the first-team coaching staff in November 2019, and he is now head coach of Spanish third-tier side Ibiza.

Speaking to The Athletic, Carcedo said stability at Arsenal is needed if the club are to rediscover former glories.

"It is not easy," said Carcedo. "After so many years with Wenger, it was not an easy moment. It is true that there were changes in many different areas of the club.

"But the club hierarchy has to try to keep things calm and give confidence to the people working there, now it is Mikel and [technical director] Edu.

"I know it is not easy sometimes, with results, but constant changes are not good and you need to have patience for the results to arrive, and so that the people who work there now can achieve the things they are fighting for.”

10 - Arsenal have now won each of their last 10 home Premier League matches on Boxing Day, the second-best run in the competition’s history after Manchester United won 12 in a row between 1997 and 2016. Festive.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2020

The Emery era saw Arsenal win 25 of 51 Premier League games, losing 13 times, but hopes that results would turn for the better under Arteta have so far not been fulfilled.

Arteta has chalked up 14 wins and 13 defeats across 35 games in the English top flight, starting from a draw with Bournemouth on December 26 last year.

His team have dropped 18 points from a winning position and only gained nine from a losing position, which is a record significantly inferior to Arsenal under Emery.

With the often-maligned Emery at the helm, they dropped 19 points after leading but picked up 18 after being behind in games.