Arsenal supporter Piers Morgan has now conceded that he was wrong about one important figure at the North London club.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is now a loved and idolised figure at the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta has transformed Arsenal. He has made the Gunners Premier League title contenders again, having healed the rift that once existed between the club and the fans, and having built an exciting, talented, and likeable young squad who are hungry for success.
However, when the Spaniard was first appointed in December 2019, there were certainly doubts about his readiness for such a role, given he had never managed a club before. After the former Arsenal midfielder hung up his boots in 2016, he then joined Manchester City as an assistant to Pep Guardiola, but did not sit in the hotseat himself until his return to North London.
After just a few months at the helm, Arteta led Arsenal to glory in the FA Cup. A period of struggle then followed though. The Gunners recorded an eighth-place finish the next season, and missed out on Champions League football again in the campaign after that.
The one-time club captain came under plenty of pressure during this time. However, the club stood firm behind their man. Sporting director Edu has since discussed why Arsenal never considered sacking Arteta.
The board have since been rewarded for their faith in the boss. Fans will be eager to see him stay for as long as possible, and will be encouraged by the fact that Arteta looks set to sign a new contract with Arsenal.
Piers Morgan admits he was wrong about Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Meanwhile, his more vocal one-time critics have been forced to eat their words. Amongst these doubters was Piers Morgan.
Speaking to Simon Jordan on the Up Front podcast, the broadcaster has now admitted his error of judgement.
Morgan said: “I wouldn’t have given him that new three-year contract when we’d gone two seasons losing thirteen games a season.”
Jordan then responded: “But you’d have been wrong about that, wouldn’t you?”
Morgan replied: “Yes…I was wrong…He turned out to be a fantastic appointment by Arsenal. It just took two years for him to start to realise his promise.”
What Mikel Arteta still needs to prove at Arsenal
Arteta’s task was to bring real success back to Arsenal, and he has certainly made huge progress in that regard. However, there is still more work to do. After all, he has not got his hands on any major silverware since that early FA Cup success.
After narrowly missing out on the Premier League title this time around, Arteta promised Arsenal fans that the best is yet to come. Now that time has arrived for him to show that he can lead Arsenal all the way.