Jamie Carragher: Arsenal facing 'big conundrum' over Mikel Arteta

Jamie Carragher has said that the Arsenal board will be facing a 'big conundrum' if they don't win a trophy next year.

While Mikel Arteta has done a superb job since taking over at the Emirates, guiding Arsenal to what will likely be three straight runner-up finishes in the Premier League, the Gunners have now gone five years without a trophy.

One argument is that getting Arsenal back into a position where they can challenge for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League is more important than a token trophy, but another is that failing to win any silverware for five years is a serious underachievement.

Prior to their recent change in fortunes, Arsenal had spent six years outside of the Premier League's top four, and had just one runner-up finish in the previous 17 years.

There's no denying Arteta has taken the club forwards, but in a way, the Spaniard is almost a victim of his own success. On another night, Arsenal could well have beaten Paris Saint-Germain and made the UEFA Champions League final, putting a wholly different spin on their campaign, where domestically they're as close to 10th-placed Bournemouth as they are to champions Liverpool.

Jamie Carragher believes questions will be asked in 12 months' time if their trophy drought isn't ended.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher said: “This season felt like it should have been their season.

“There’s no doubt next season that the pressure will be on Mikel Arteta massively in terms of winning something and winning something big.

“The Arsenal board, if they don’t [win a major trophy], will have a massive issue because they won’t want to change their manager, but there will be that many people saying: five or six years without a trophy...

“They will be looking at how many managers can make that next step.

“Arsenal could easily become what Chelsea are right now. They could go from a team coming second, year in, year out to a team that doesn’t actually get into the Champions League.

“[Changing managers] is the big conundrum that Arsenal as a football club will have in 12 months, if Arsenal go close again [but] don’t actually get across the line.”

Liam Williams

• Arsenal F.C.
• Premier League
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