Buffoon? No, Arteta's a gaffer to cherish

JUDGING by a lot of the reaction to Mikel Arteta's comments in the immediate aftermath of Arsenal's Champions League exit, you would think the manager of the current second-best team in England is some sort of deluded buffoon.

- ANDY DUNN

You would have at least thought he was an embarrassingly bad loser.

Arteta is neither.

In the sense that his team have won only five of their last 13 games in all competitions, have seen the Premier League title claimed by Liverpool and come up short in the Champions League, it has not been the best couple of months for the Arsenal boss.

That much is very true.

The drop-off in league form has been particularly disappointing, the Gunners winning only three of their last 10 matches.

As Arteta himself admitted - or was forced to admit when reminded of the evidence - Arsenal have regressed in terms of Premier League performance.

In the unlikely event they win all three remaining matches, starting at Anfield today, they will finish with 76 points, 12 short of last season's tally.