Notoriously fickle Arsenal fans to now turn on Mikel Arteta and players? Martin Keown asked the question | OneFootball

Martin Keown has been talking about Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal fans, ahead of Sunday’s home match against Newcastle United.

The last eleven Premier League games, home and away, have seen the Gunners win only three of them.

Whilst at home in all competitions, draws against Brentford and Palace have been followed by defeats against PSG and Bournemouth.

The notoriously fickle Arsenal fans booed Mikel Arteta and his players after that latest home defeat to Bournemouth.

With their season having fallen apart and now moving into six years without a trophy, would defeat to Newcastle United be the final tipping point?

With Arsenal fans having shamefully campaigned to force out Arsene Wenger after he had done an incredible job over two decades, even winning three FA Cups in his last five seasons was considered nowhere near good enough for the entitled Arsenal fans.

Mikel Arteta has now won nothing at all in five seasons, so it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Clearly now feeling under immense pressure, even by his standards, the Mikel Arteta excuses have been beyond ridiculous.

Arteta claiming Arsenal to be the best team in the Champions League despite losing both legs to PSG, then talking about how they somehow deserved to win the Premier League the last couple of seasons despite all the evidence saying the opposite.

Having been loudly booed by the Arsenal fans at the end of the defeat to Bournemouth, will it be more of the same for Mikel Arteta and his players, or even worse, if the Gunners lose to Newcastle.

Martin Keown asked the above question on Talksport – 15 May 2025:

“You are talking about something that hasn’t happened yet.

“So, it is kind of like…I don’t think the Arsenal fans are going to be too happy if they lose to Newcastle.

“That doesn’t mean they can’t be in the Champions League.

“There’s still Southampton to come [in final game of season]…

“But the obvious thing is, the Bournemouth game now, if you had have got something from there, you are pretty much secure.

“So, I think that is where the anger was [from Arsenal fans].

“But all these successive games, it does play a part.

“And Arsenal have pretty well made two changes from the Champions League games to the league games.

“Unlike what you’re seeing with other teams who are still in Europe, making wholesale changes.

“Arsenal haven’t been able to do that and that says something about the strength of the squad and the players that the manager wants to pick.

“It has to be stronger for next season.”

Martin Keown asked if it will be unacceptable if Arsenal end up finishing behind Newcastle United and drop below them to third or worse?

“Well, I do know that it [Arsenal v Newcastle] is a huge game.

“Newcastle United put Arsenal out of the semi-finals of the League Cup.

“Newcastle United went on to win that, first [domestic] trophy in 70-odd years.

“All of those players now are cemented in history. There’s a bit of an aura about them.

“They’re handling big games much better. I thought that against Chelsea.

“They were in the Champions League last year and did exceptionally well.

“I thought they were unlucky, actually, the way they went out [in group stages].

“So, there’s some big-game players there now, so it’s a tough game for Arsenal, but maybe it’s a cup final.