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Arsenal legend Jens Lehmann has issued a stark warning to Mikel Arteta, suggesting the Gunners boss is running out of time to prove he can lead the club to major silverware.
Arteta has overseen a dramatic transformation at the north London club since taking over in December 2019, turning them from a team in crisis to consistent title challengers. Under his leadership, Arsenal have twice come agonisingly close to winning the Premier League and recently reached their first Champions League semi-final in 16 years after a dominant win over Real Madrid.
However, Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the semi-final has dampened spirits and left Arsenal with a daunting task in the return fixture. With their hopes of silverware hanging in the balance, Lehmann believes the pressure is mounting on Arteta to finally deliver a trophy.
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Speaking to talkSPORT, Lehmann said: “I think he started with a bad start, but you have to give a lot of credit to him. He pulled himself out, he changed the team and now he has made them very stable, and stable at the top, which is fantastic for the current owner because he generates the money.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (Image credit: Getty Images)Lehmann joked about the financial upside for the club, adding: “And on top of it, if they don’t win, he doesn’t need to pay him extra bonuses!”
But the former goalkeeper was clear that time is running out: “Obviously, he has to win next year. This year, they could have won [the Premier League], Man City dropped a little bit, Liverpool replaced them. Next year he has to win, but he probably needs to change his personality a little bit to win things.”
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Lehmann suggested Arteta may need to take more risks to achieve success: “Because sometimes, it’s about control and being cautious. But if you want to win some things, in my opinion, you could be a little more risky.”
Looking ahead to the second leg against PSG, Lehmann added: “Next week is super important. I cross my fingers that they will score two goals and will not concede one.”
Arsenal will hope to overturn the deficit and keep their Champions League dream alive—knowing failure could invite further scrutiny of Arteta’s long-term future.
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