After the job he has done lifting Arsenal up the league table, Mikel Arteta has certainly been getting plenty of plaudits. If you think about where the Gunners were after three games of the Premier League season the fact that they are in a position to challenge for Champions League qualification going into the home stretch is very impressive.
As a result Arteta has been rewarded consistently on a personal level. The Spaniard became the first Arsenal manager since Arsene Wenger in 2007 to win the Premier League manager of the month award twice in a season when he scooped up the accolade in March, and is being heavily praised for how he has overseen a cultural reset at the Emirates. However, on Monday night he would have seen how fickle much of that praise can be.
The Gunners slumped to a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace, a blow that probably would have been made even more painful for Arteta by the fact that his fellow former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira was in the opposition dugout. After the game the Spaniard was in no doubt over who was to blame for the performance.
