Journalist Dan Bardell has explained what new aspect in Arsenal’s upcoming home fixture could spell bad news for the club as they embark upon a new season.
This weekend, Arsenal face Chelsea at home in the Premier League. Having played Brentford away on the opening day of the 2021/22 campaign, Arsenal are yet to host a competitive match in front of a capacity home crowd, although they have played Chelsea in a friendly game.
While talking about Arsenal during The Totally Football Show, Bardell explained that, as the club have not progressed over the past few seasons, the home crowd could quickly turn on their team:
“I think fans back is really bad news – really bad news, the fans being back for him [Mikel Arteta].
“Look at them on Friday. Xhaka’s still playing, Chambers is still playing. These players have been around Arsenal for a long, long time now and haven’t really done anything. But yet, they’re still on the opening day of the 21/22 season, players like that are in the team.
“They just going nowhere, Arsenal, in my opinion, absolutely nowhere. I’m not even convinced changing managers will do anything for them because I wouldn’t trust them to bring the right manager in.”
TIF Thoughts on Arsenal’s upcoming season…
Will Mikel Arteta still be Arsenal's manager at the end of the season?
Yes
No
With fans being absent from Premier League games for a significant part of the previous two seasons, everyone at Arsenal should be more than excited to see a packed Emirates Stadium this weekend.
However, the club’s form has been shaky in this period – with the club finishing eighth in the league twice in a row under the management of Arteta.
A slow start to the season with that 2-0 loss to Brentford will have done little to lighten the mood at the club. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why Bardell predicts a difficult afternoon for Arsenal as they prepare to face the European champions.
However, the recent signing of Martin Odegaard may have lifted some spirits amongst the fanbase. Perhaps he will be the silver lining in a troubling period for the club.
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