Mikel Arteta's Arsenal's performance levels have never sunk as low as Erik ten Hag's United. Photo: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
Sometimes the statistics of a manager approaching his second anniversary at the helm of one of the Premier League's biggest clubs are so appalling that you can't imagine how they can survive.
Losing the first 24 matches of 73 Premier League matches is a sure way to being sacked at a club aiming for regular Champions League qualification, even if a major trophy has been collected along the way.
When it seems that after two matches you are just as far from the peak of the years in which you were appointed, supporters are struggling to find the positive and have the right to expect immediate change.
Fortunately for Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, this poor run of results he suffered between December 2019 and December 2021 is proof that a difficult start to his reign can be overcome.
Erik ten Hag of » Manchester United can analyze the first two matches of their next opponent. years in the Emirates and see hope. He could, of course, use this as evidence to Sir Jim Ratcliffe that demands for his sacking are premature.
It will shock many that for the same number of Premier League games the Dutchman is performing slightly better than Arteta.
Ten Hag won a further five of his first 73 Premier League games. He lost two less. United scored a further five goals but, importantly, conceded a further 16. Where Arteta won the FA Cup and Community Shield, Ten Hag won the League Cup and may yet join the FA Cup.
Despite all this, Arteta's performance levels at Arsenal have never fallen as consistently low as those of Ten Hug's Manchester United.
Of course, there were some unpleasant moments as Arteta began to implement his vision. On Arteta's first anniversary as Arsenal manager, his team dropped to 15th in the Premier League after defeat by Everton.
His second full season began with successive defeats to Brentford, » Chelsea and especially the heartbreaking 5-0 defeat to Everton. Manchester City, prompting Pep Guardiola to defend his former assistant and urge patience.
“I know the job he can do,” Guardiola said. Critics believed that Guardiola was simply helping his comrade rather than predicting that they would go head to head in the final two weeks of the title race three years later.
When comparing the respective records of Arteta and Ten Hag, by this point their board, I wondered what the real difference was.
The first thing to look at is the context in which both were appointed.
Arteta had never achieved success before taking charge of Arsenal. Stan Kroenke took a risk by hiring the 37-year-old, committing the club to a long-term vision. Arteta was his man, and there is no point in looking for such a young coach and getting rid of him after the first two years of a massive rebuild.
Arteta inherited a team that had failed to qualify for the Champions League for three years. and was in need of major reconstruction. High earners such as Mesut Ozil, David Luiz and Alexandre Lacazette needed offloading, as did costly mistakes such as Nicolas Pepe.
Only two of Arteta's picks in the first game against Bournemouth in December 2019 are still at the club (Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson), with most leaving after their second full season.
Arteta's best deals in the first two summers of his career have been forward-thinking ones. Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Gabriel emerged as key players, while Saka and Gabriel Martinelli quickly became symbols of hope. After three transfer windows, Arteta has spent just over £82 million. Larger deals were expected to take place once the deadwood disappeared.
What impressed me most in those first two years was the 2020 FA Cup win, when Manchester City and Chelsea were beaten with counter-attacking football using Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's pace and Arteta demonstrating his tactical flexibility. He realized that he did not have the players to possess the ball or play with high pressure. When the going gets tough, Arteta has earned a reputation as a manager who has already shown he knows how to influence a game.
Arteta has skillfully used Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's pace to win the FA Cup. Photo: Reuters/Adam Davey
He also knew how to quickly turn bad spells around with encouraging results to ease the pressure.
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Although the championship form did not break the records, the cups and Europe were the salvation. Across all competitions, Arteta won more of his first 100 matches than Arsene Wenger.
This meant that despite the setbacks, there was always a sense of a final destination. When Arsenal put in good results and performances, the fruits of the work could be seen on the training ground. Arsenal took steps back to move forward.
Manchester United, on the other hand, took a step forward last year but have since taken several steps back.
Ten Hag took charge of United with great reputation for his work at Ajax, especially when he led the team to the semi-finals of the Champions League. He was not presented as an aspiring coach, but at 52 he was expected to be a ready coach who imposed a clear vision. United had qualified for the Champions League in two of the three seasons leading up to Ten Hag's appointment and there was a belief that talented players needed excellent coaching and a change in the culture at the training ground.
Like Arteta, Ten Hag was left with no choice but to use his existing personnel to be more pragmatic in his first season. United spent just over £380 million in the first three transfer windows and nothing changed as they bought more deadwood than they sold. Of Ten Hag's first Premier League squad (defeat to Brighton in August 2022), seven are likely to remain in the first team anyway. Only two have left the club, and another, Jadon Sancho, is set to play the Champions League final on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
Unlike Arteta's transfer choices, Ten Hag's decisions had dire consequences, especially the signing of Anthony and Casemiro.
United were regularly outclassed by their opponents, losing 6-3 to Manchester City and 7-0 to Liverpool, although they fought to win. and against mid-table Premier League teams.
Even when United achieved good results under Ten Hag, I honestly find it difficult to remember any exceptionally good performances with an astute proactive system of play. Two years later they no longer look like a top team. Ten Hag says injuries to Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez have hampered their ability to play at the back, but the style of a club of United's stature should not depend on the fitness of the two backs. They still play on the counter-attack, using a lot of direct high passes from back to front.
None of Arteta's most disappointing defeats comes remotely close to the 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Monday night.
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What worries Ten Hag, the biggest difference is that he is not the designated owner. Arsenal management have staked their reputation on Arteta's success. Logic dictates that Ratcliffe will be more likely to rise or fall depending on his coaching choices.
A month before Arteta's second anniversary as Arsenal manager, I wrote the following: “Arsenal already looks different than it did a year ago » . Now the worst may be behind them and they can reach the light at the end of the tunnel.»
Can anyone seriously say the same about Ten Hag's Manchester United?
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