Paul Merson disagrees with Gary Neville’s suggestion that Mikel Arteta could consider leaving in the summer, insisting his Gunners team are ‘only going to get better’.
Arsenal are on course to finish fourth in the Premier League and qualify for next season’s .
But former captain Neville believes that could be ‘as good as it gets’ for Arsenal and says Arteta .
‘I really like Mikel Arteta,’ Neville said at a . ‘I think he’s a brilliant coach. I think the team is fantastic in terms of the young players they’ve got.
‘My concern is if Arsenal finish fourth this season – which, to be fair, I think is 50/50, I still think there’s a long way to go in that race – but if they finish fourth, that’s in some ways as good as it gets.
‘You’ve got Pep [Guardiola], [Jurgen] Klopp, Man United, Chelsea – where can Arsenal go? They’re not going to compete.
‘Mikel Arteta is a brilliant coach. I love that we’re seeing a team that he’s getting the maximum out of – I can see exactly how he wants to play, we all can.
‘But he gets to fourth [and] if he was really hard about it, he’d probably say “right, that’s the best I can do there, I’m going now and getting my next job”.’
Merson disagrees with Neville and says Arteta is ‘building a team’ at Arsenal that could challenge for titles in the next few years, especially if Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola leave Liverpool and Manchester City.
Asked whether he shares Neville’s concerns over Arteta’s future at Arsenal, Merson told Sky Sports: ‘Not really, not with the team he’s got. I think he’s building a team at Arsenal.
‘If you were looking at the team and they were all 30, you’d think you might need to jump here. You’ve done your job, get out.
‘But this team is only going to get better and better. I think they’ll go again in the summer transfer window, buy young players again, a new centre-forward.
‘I think they are in a cycle. In a couple of years’ time, Klopp and Guardiola probably won’t be at Liverpool and Man City.
‘Chelsea will be a force for the next couple of years but when players’ contracts start running out, I’m not sure how they will be able to sustain it [under new owners].
‘So you’ve got to wait and be patient if you’re Arsenal and Arteta.’
On Monday night, Arsenal travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace, who are enjoying an impressive season under Gunners legend Patrick Vieira.
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