There are a couple of signs that a Premier League manager at one of the traditional top clubs is fearing for his job.
asserted
manager → be → job
The idea that Arteta's tenure at Arsenal is something of a blueprint has been regularly latched onto by those at rival clubs, the suggestion being that time and time alone is the answer to all problems.
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time → latch → problems
When his time in the Tottenham dugout was stumbling to an early conclusion, Thomas Frank pointed hopefully across north London.
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Frank → stumble → London
“I think it is a good example of a club that sticks to the process," Frank said.
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Frank → think → process
“It took probably three seasons for Arteta, so the fourth season, that is where he competed.
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he → take → Arteta
So he is really, really ready to compete in his fourth season.
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he → compete → season
There was nothing in Frank's tenure to suggest he deserved to make it that far.
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he → be → it
No long-term vision to persuade supporters or the club's hierarchy that short-term pain was worth enduring.
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pain → persuade → supporters
His authority was consistently eroded.
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authority → erode → ?
Frank disciplined Yves Bissouma, a player already heading for the exit door, for lateness, but dissent from Cristian Romero, Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven all later went unpunished.
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dissent → discipline → Romero
"It pains me to say, but the one that won the league in our country last season has been there for a long period of time," Carrick said last month.
"
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Carrick → pain → time
It’s seven years, and the first two seasons [they finished] maybe eighth or seventh.
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they → ’ → ?
"
Whether they were given seven months, seven years, or seven decades, most managers would not have turned around the mess that Arsenal were in when Arteta took charge.
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Arteta → give → charge
Read More
The desperation for results is prioritised over addressing Manchester United’s rotten core
The Spaniard possesses a unique character, an aura that brings people along with him.
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that → read → him
It was that intensity and force of character that persuaded Arsenal to take a punt on him.
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that → persuade → him
Within a year, he was promoted from head coach to manager.
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he → promote → manager
What has followed since is testament to the extraordinary leader he is.
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he → follow → leader
Crucially, Arteta had people above him willing to go all in.
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Arteta → have → him
He wanted decisive action and Arsenal backed him.
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Arsenal → want → him
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had his contract terminated barely six months into Arteta’s reign.
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contract → terminate → reign
Mesut Ozil, the club's highest-paid player, was cast aside and had his deal torn up in the Spaniard’s first full season in charge.
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deal → pay → charge
Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi followed almost immediately in similarly ruthless exits.
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Sokratis → follow → exits
Arsenal needed a cultural reset.
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Arsenal → need → reset
Arteta had the personality to demand that but also the authority to enact it.
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Arteta → have → it
Club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of his duties for repeatedly being late and ultimately had his contract ripped up as well.
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contract → strip → duties
Mohammed Elneny said in 2022: "Everyone is scared with their position because this happened to Aubameyang.
"
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this → say → Aubameyang
Of course if anyone is not the captain of the team, does a small mistake, they are going to have the same problem, and no one needs that problem."
Arsenal's hierarchy could very easily have sided with Aubameyang or Ozil, both on £350,000-a-week, over Arteta.
uncertain
hierarchy → go → Arteta
Instead, a line was drawn in the sand.
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line → draw → sand
Player power would not usurp Arteta's authority.
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power → usurp → authority
Everything since then, from the harmonious dressing room to the connection with the fans, from the extraordinary work-rate of his players to the pride in defending the cause, has been built on those foundations.
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Everything → defend → foundations
Time will not help Carrick at United when he has been given no other tools.
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he → help → tools
Lisandro Martinez, who should have been moved on a long time ago, slagged off the club's executives but was not dropped.
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who → move → executives
Two matches later, he displayed remarkable stupidity in being sent off against Chelsea.
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he → display → Chelsea
Bruno Fernandes, the club captain, took aim at Carrick himself.
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Fernandes → take → Carrick
He sat out for one match but then returned with the armband still in his possession.
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armband → sit → possession
The desperation for results was prioritised over addressing the club's rotten core.
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desperation → prioritise → core
The same players will get another manager sacked.
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manager → get → ?
Results will pick up and optimism will briefly return, but the underlying issues will remain.
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issues → pick → ?
Nothing fundamentally will have changed.
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Nothing → change → ?
It is easy to throw out buzzwords like patience and process, just as it is easy to allow a manager to limp on towards an inevitable conclusion, hoping to hide from deeper failings and another major decision the hierarchy got wrong.
asserted
hierarchy → throw → failings
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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