Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he is not worried about his position after his side slumped to their worst start to a season since 1981 with defeat at home by Wolves in a game overshadowed by a nasty head injury to visiting striker Raul Jimenez.
The Gunners sit 14th in the table after five losses in 10 league games – a year to the day since Unai Emery was sacked at head coach – and have been beaten in their past three matches at Emirates Stadium.
“It’s something that the day I decided to be a coach I knew that one day I would be sacked or leave the football club but I don’t know when that is going to happen,” he said.
“In this profession, I know it will happen but I never worry about it.
“My only concern is to get the best out of the players and give the best possible service to the club.”
One year on, Arsenal still struggling
On 29 November 2019, Emery was dismissed as Arsenal manager with the Gunners eighth in the Premier League and a mutinous atmosphere around the club.
Exactly 12 months on, his successor seems to have more questions than answers in his in-tray after another flat performance in front of empty stands at this cavernous stadium.
Arteta deserves credit for the way he rallied the team last season to seal Europa League qualification by winning the FA Cup – a triumph that included notable victories over Manchester City and Chelsea.
The former Gunners midfielder has also stiffened the backbone of a team that was regularly accused of being flaky – before Sunday’s fixture, only Tottenham had conceded fewer goals in the Premier League this season.
Arsenal seem to have lost fluency going forward and their world-class striker and premium asset Aubameyang has only scored two league goals this season.
Indeed, Aubameyang touched the ball only eight times in the first half – and three of those were from kick-offs. Then, when gifted two second-half opportunities, the Gabon international failed to hit the target with either.
Arsenal’s goal, simple in its creation, was a powerful Gabriel header from Willian’s cross, but beyond that they rarely threatened a Wolves backline that is also notoriously solid.
Arteta needs a swift solution to his side’s bluntness because, on a day when north London rivals Tottenham went back to the top of the table, they seem further away than ever from the English top-flight’s elite.
