Arsenal “made a mistake” in appointing Mikel Arteta as manager, according to William Gallas, who says that he wasn’t ready for the Gunners job.
Arteta replaced Unai Emery as Arsenal’s new permanent manager in December 2019, having spent the previous three years under Pep Guardiola as assistant at Manchester City.
The Spanish coach has just completed his first full season in charge, which ended in disappointment as they missed out on a place in Europe for the first time in 25 years.
“Mikel Arteta was not ready yet to manage a club like Arsenal,” former Arsenal and France defender, Gallas told The Sun.
“OK, he was assistant coach at Manchester City. But he had never managed a team. It is completely different.
“The board made a mistake picking him. I’m sure he will be a great manager but you need to have experience to manage a big club.
“To be honest, it is a great shame for the Arsenal fans after finishing eighth. “Arsenal is not the same Arsenal we knew 18, 20 years ago. We had players who were strong, with strong personalities.”
READ MORE: Ferdinand says Man Utd player should’ve been cut from England squad
Harry Kane reveals his love for Chelsea star & Tuchel’s top transfer target
Aguero makes Messi prediction after completing Barcelona transfer
Arteta won over the club’s fans in the second half of the 2019-20 season by delivering an FA Cup triumph, which he followed up with a Community Shield win over Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
But, results quickly took a turn for the worse in Arsenal’s latest season as they fell into the bottom half of the table, with Arteta’s tactical approach called into question several times.
The gunners went on to exit the FA Cup in the fourth round and suffer a semi-final defeat to Villarreal in the Europa League, but they managed to finish the season with five consecutive Premier League victories.
Arsenal will likely keep faith with the 37one-year-old for another campaign as he continues to oversee a long-term project, with his contract not due to expire until the year 2023.
However, he has warned that recruitment in the summer will be necessary for the Gunners to move forward in 2021-22. Arteta said: “There are so many things to do because we have a lot of players on loan and a lot of players with contracts that we still have to sort.
“It will depend on what happens with a lot of those players and what we are able to recruit to improve the team. That is going to determine where we are.”
