Simon Jordan is surprised Arsenal made the decision to hire Mikel Arteta rather than appointing a proven and experienced manager who would more likely guarantee success.
Arteta was confirmed as the Gunners’ new boss last week and takes charge of his first match today against Bournemouth – with full commentary of the Boxing Day clash LIVE on talkSPORT 2!
Arsenal have followed Manchester United and Chelsea in appointing beloved former players as their managers, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Frank Lampard both currently leading their respective ex-clubs.
However, the north Londoners’ appointment is much more risky as Arteta has no managerial experience to his name.
Solskjaer worked at Molde and Cardiff before returning to Old Trafford while Lampard moved to Chelsea after a lone season in charge of Derby.
Arteta, on the other hand, had been an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Man City since retiring as a player and this is the first time he has ever tried to make a name for himself in management.
And Jordan, the former Crystal Palace chairman, says this bold move by Arsenal’s hierarchy surprised him.
Speaking on the Final Word on talkSPORT, Jordan said: “I expected that they would go for an out of the box, top of the range, fully fledged manager, to be able to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be.
“That being said, changing direction and looking at someone who brings fresh ideas… you are never going to know what Mikel Arteta is going to do until you give him that opportunity.
“You could be sitting in the eye of a storm, the same way David Dein was with the unknown Arsene Wenger – but he was managing and coaching in Japan and had been managing in France.
“But this guy is a different animal completely. I don’t care if he was part of a schooled tree that Barcelona once had, I don’t care if he worked for Pep Guardiola – he has to do it on his own.
“That is just part and parcel of the mythology that gets perpetuated by football: ‘he worked for him so that makes him good’.
“When it comes to management you are on an island; you are on your own putting your team together and managing your players. It’s a completely different dynamic to being a No.2.
“But he is very well revered and you could see Guardiola did not want to lose him.”
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Arsenal’s recent problems were not all caused by former manager Unai Emery, with the club facing as many issues off the pitch as they struggle with on it.
And Jordan believes most the trouble stems from the Gunners’ ownership.
“Arsenal to me at this moment in time seem a very dysfunctional club,” continued Jordan. “It has an owner who isn’t really in touch with the heartbeat, the fibre, the fabric of the club – he views it as a proposition.
“There is nothing wrong with viewing it as a commercial animal – it is a balance sheet business – as long as you give it what it needs to keep progressing.
“Liverpool are giving it what it needs but they are still making economic sense of the business they are in. You have to invest to get something back.
“I’m not sure that is the same methodology being deployed by Stan Kroenke. You look at the makeup of their board and it feels old and decrepit.”
You can watch the clip of Simon Jordan on talkSPORT, in full, above…