Arsenal fan leaves pundits Savage and Sutton stunned with call to replace Arteta

23 October 2023 , 10:04

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Arsenal fan leaves pundits Savage and Sutton stunned with call to replace Arteta

An Arsenal supporter left Chris Sutton and Robbie Savage lost for words after recommending the London side ditch manager Mikel Arteta and replace him with Zinedine Zidane.

Arteta led Arsenal to a second-place finish in the Premier Leagua last term, with his team topping the table for much of the campaign. The Gunners remain in contention this time around, beating Manchester City in the league for the first time in the Arteta era thanks to Gabriel Martinelli's winner in early October.

There have been one or two shaky moments, with a late comeback required to rescue a point against Chelsea on Saturday. Few are calling for a change of manager, but one - a fan named Andre - is in the minority who thinks it's time to look for a replacement.

"I think Arteta has been given a bit too much credit," Andre said during a BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in, prompting Savage to bring up the Gunners' unbeaten start to the season. Despite dropping points against Chelsea, Arteta's team are level on points with league leaders Manchester City after nine games.

"It's not just about the league," the fan continued. "We got rid of [Arsene] Wenger for consistently getting top four, and I think now we're getting excited and comfortable because we're competing for the league.

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When pressed on what Arteta has achieved so far, Sutton pointed to Arsenal's 2020 FA Cup win and their run to second in the league last term. This seemingly wasn't enough for Andre, though, who made his case for a new man to take the reins.

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Mikel Arteta's Arsenal claimed a point against Chelsea on Saturday (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

"He's brought the fans together, he has, but in terms of winning the league, in terms of doing something in Europe, I don't think he's the man for us," he continued. Savage then prompted Andre to explain who he'd want instead of Arteta, and the answer prompted wide smiles.

"I think Zidane," Andre said. "I think he's waiting to come to England, I think he'd be the right guy for us. I think we're unbeaten, but we saw what happened last year.

"I just can't see [Arteta] winning the league for us, doing anything in Europe. I think we've got comfortable again. I actually didn't want Wenger to go but I think we're in the same situation again."

Zidane won three Champions League titles and two league titles across two spells as Real Madrid manager. However, he has not taken a new role since leaving the Spanish side in 2021.

Tom Victor