“Pressure is on, Mikel” – Collymore questions whether Arteta is still the right man for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta couldn’t hide his disappointment after Arsenal were dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich.

It followed a 0-2 reverse at home to Aston Villa which puts the destination of this season’s Premier League title back in Man City’s hands.

The Gunners now find themselves two points behind Pep Guardiola’s side and there can’t be any more dropped points between now and the end of the season if Arsenal want to be in the title conversation right at the end of the campaign.

The late-season blip is beginning to mirror that from last season, and it brings into question the mentality of the squad and whether they have the strength to push on and deliver silverware.

Arteta needs to up his game

Ultimately, the buck stops with the manager, and former professional turned outspoken pundit, Stan Collymore, has questioned whether Arteta is still the man to lead the North Londoners.

“So if Arsenal don’t win the title (especially as they’re out of the CL now), do we have a serious conversation about whether he’s (Arteta) the man to take the big silverware to Arsenal?” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“£690m spent, playing Kai Havertz in midfield against a well drilled Villa team who outfought and out-thought them in the second half… if there’s another choke on the same scale as last year then surely Arsenal need to at least be looking around the market to see if there’s someone who can get them over the line?

“Arteta’s no rookie let’s not forget.

“He’s been an apprentice at City, has had plenty of time to settle and implement his ideas at Arsenal and brought in the players HE wanted, including the likes of Havertz, Jesus – who when not injured hasn’t done anywhere near enough to suggest he’s a regular 25 goal a