Paul Merson says transfer market mess will 'help' Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta

Paul Merson has backed Mikel Arteta to be one of the managers to thrive amid uncertainty in the transfer market and believes it will take the pressure off him at Arsenal.

Arteta has already taken great strides forward with the Gunners – who are unbeaten in eight Premier League matches under the Spaniard in 2020 – but was hoping to put his own stamp on the squad in the summer.

However, there is great uncertainty regarding transfers amid the coronavirus pandemic and Arsenal are expected to be working with a shoestring budget.

But Merson thinks Arteta can still drive the club in the right direction, while Arsenal bosses will be prepared to give him even more time to rebuild given the circumstances.

‘Every manager is different,’ Merson told Sky Sports. ‘I’ve worked under some great coaches who weren’t good managers, and I’ve worked under some great managers who weren’t good coaches.

‘You need the team around you, the coaches around you to challenge you. When you have a coaching staff around you who don’t, and are just yes men, that can be a problem.

‘But I think this situation helps someone like Mikel Arteta. Arsenal need such an overhaul of players that it’s actually almost impossible to get that many players in.

‘There’s now an opportunity for him to work with the current crop, and I think it actually takes the pressure off of Arteta, and now anything is a bonus.

‘Arsenal’s expectations will be nowhere near as high as they were a few months ago. I think he’ll now be given loads and loads of time to build. He’s young, he’s enthusiastic, and he’ll want to work with younger players.

‘He’s not a [Jose] Mourinho or Pep Guardiola, who I’d call your Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroys, they’re just dealing in majors, nothing else! Arteta is the type who might work from the ground up with lesser players.’

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