Mike Arteta claims Arsenal’s decline started five
years ago - and insisted he is still the manager to turn things around.
Arsenal will stick with Arteta into next season and back him in the transfer market this summer to help rebuild after failing to reach Europe for the first time in 25 years and are on course to finish mid-table.
But Arteta has warned it was always going to be a long term rebuilding job because they started falling behind from when they started finishing outside of the Champions League places under previous boss Arsene Wenger.
Gunners manager Arteta said: “We have not been competing with the top clubs in this country for five years.
"It is not as if this process started six months ago – it started five years ago and you can see this trend.
“I understand those concerns because when you are out of the Champions League for five years it is not just a casualty, it's a trend.