Mikel Arteta has been warned of an internal war at the Emirates Stadium, despite Arsenal moving level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City over the weekend. The Gunners capitalised on City's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa with a 2-0 win over Everton.
However, tensions might be boiling over behind the scenes after Arteta's new contract coincided with the announcement of redundancies. It is not just the Spanish manager who is reportedly in the firing line in north London, with Viktor Gyokeres' future now looking uncertain after another lacklustre display.
'Internal moaning' surfaces
Former Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness reckons there will be behind-the-scenes grumbling at Arsenal regarding staff redundancies coinciding with Arteta's contract extension announcement, reports the Mirror. The Scotsman thinks the club have generated a "bad look" after revealing the job losses around the same period as the Spaniard's new terms.
Arteta's fresh deal was announced publicly on October 7 and includes a rise on his £10 million wage plus bonuses of £5 million annually. Seven days afterwards, Arsenal confirmed up to 60 redundancies following a review conducted by an external firm.
"It is a bad look, and I think it could have been avoided," Wyness said. "I think it was all about timing. Look, they've obviously been in discussions with Mikel and his team for quite a while. They've obviously also been handling these redundancies and looking at the cost reductions for a while."
"So they've had time to think about this and to bring them out so close together. While they're not related, it's just a very bad look. There'll be a lot of moaning internally about the way it's done. And clubs exist very, very much on the staff. People don't understand just how valuable these people are within the clubs."
"We had this whole discussion about Man United and what a disastrous way they've handled it, and I must admit I would have expected a little bit better from Arsenal. Had it been two or three months apart, the whole thing wouldn't have looked connected."
Gyokeres '100%' leaving
Gabriel Agbonlahor maintains that Viktor Gyokeres will "100% be sold" before next season following a lacklustre campaign this term. The Swedish striker featured in the victory against Everton and notched the narrowest of assists for Konsa's opening goal.
Yet Agbonlahor tore into the striker on talkSPORT, claiming the 28-year-old was "running in slow motion." He said: "Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. Looks like he's like running in slow motion, isn't he? Looks like he can't run."
"Can he hold the ball up? Yes, he can, but he will be one that won't be at the club next season. Yeah, 100%. They would have got rid of him this season if they could have for [Julian] Alvarez. If Alvarez wanted to come and hadn't turned Arsenal down, they would have said, 'I would give you Gyokeres and money'."
