A statement which has his former Gunners teammate Ray Parlour slightly surprised when Tribalfootball puts it to him.
“Yeah, I'm a little bit amazed by that. Look, people have got their opinions and that's why we love football. I look at the managers who are available and I think we've certainly got the best manager to take the club forward. I don't think there's many people who could do a better job than Arteta. If they can keep that nucleus of young players together, which he's trying to, I think he's got a real chance.
“It won't be easy next season because the bar goes a little bit higher after what they've done this year. They've got to repeat that and be even better. You've got to keep driving the young players and hoping that they're improving every season. I also think the owners will certainly back him," says Parlour with players like Amadou Onana from Everton and Youssouf Fofana from Monaco being linked with Arsenal.
“I think they certainly need a midfielder. I’d like to see Declan Rice sometimes get forward a little bit more. We know Onana is a steady player in that central midfield area. He's got good strength so that would be another good squad addition. They’ll keep an eye out on the Euros as well, to see if anybody shines. But it still comes down to what sort of players leave the club, what they can get for certain players, and what sort of money they've have to spend.”
Speaking of players leaving, it looks like the quartet of Eddie Nketiah, Aaron Ramsdale, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe are on the move which saddens Ray Parlour a bit.
“I'm sad to see anybody who comes through the ranks leave Arsenal. Sometimes it's the right move for the player to move on. You want to play, it's no good sitting on the bench every week. You can get very frustrated as a player. You want to be part of a team, play on a regular basis.
“But it's a business. You've got to move on. And the players have to be hungry enough to say, “I'm going to move on and prove you wrong”. And that's what I like the best. When the youngsters move on to another club and do really well. And that's the beauty of being with Arsenal, it's at the top level. Those guys are going to be at a really good standard still.”
- Ray Parlour was talking to Tribalfootball on behalf of NetBet Sports Betting