Pep Guardiola has thrown his support behind his former assistant Mikel Arteta as the pressure continues to mount on the Arsenal boss.
The Gunners slumped to another disappointing defeat on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 by Burnley.
And they have now won just one of their last eight games in the Premier League and are languishing down in 15th place in the table.
Some are suggesting Arteta could be set for the sack unless he turns around his side’s woeful form soon.
But speaking ahead of his team’s match against West Brom on Tuesday, Guardiola urged the powers-that-be at the Emirates to show patience.
“Arsenal doesn’t have a better manager that leads this club – in this year and the next – that is better than him, I don’t have to give publicly my support because he has it and he knows that he has it. He’s one of the best managers I’ve ever worked with, of course, and seen directly.”
“I’m pretty sure he will turn over and will do it like everyone expects. But sometimes when a club comes from not a good period, sometimes it needs time. I would say [if I was] part of the board at Arsenal, I will not have any doubts about his quality and capacity to put Arsenal in the place like Arsenal deserves to be.”
Pep Guardiola
Arsenal’s technical director Edu Gaspar also backed Arteta, and believes the club are on the right path in spite of their rotten start to the campaign.
“Mikel is doing a great job, “It’s normal and easy to be driven by results. But I can see the future, see where we go and the way we are building things on a daily basis. Everything here is right, everything here is working.
“How many young players have started to get opportunities and perform quite well in the first team? I can see a big and beautiful future. It’s very strange to say that in this moment, but I have to be fair – that’s the way I see the photo.”
The Gunners next take on Southampton on Wednesday before a trip to Everton at the weekend.
