Gary Lineker has reminded Piers Morgan of a tweet he sent criticising Mikel Arteta following Arsenal's 1-0 away victory against Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
Morgan has been heavily critical of Arteta since his appointment in December 2019. Just two months ago, the Gunners fan described Arteta as a "demonstrable failure" at Arsenal and called for him to be sacked if the team don't finish in the top four this term.
The chances of Arsenal achieving that are looking increasingly promising. Arteta's side are currently fourth, four points clear of Manchester United in fifth with a game in hand. Tottenham and West Ham are also in the hunt for Champions League football.
Following Arsenal's win against Villa, club legend Ian Wright insisted there were "characters" emerging in Arteta's team. On seeing Wright's quotes, Morgan retweeted them and wrote: "Agree with all this."
At which point, Lineker shared a screenshot of a tweet from Morgan questioning the manager. That tweet was sent just three days ago.
"19 points off the leaders, already lost eight PL games, out of both domestic cups, not in Europe at all and gave out best striker [Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang] to Barcelona with no replacement," wrote Morgan. "I'd hate to see what the wrong direction looks like."
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Morgan's tweet was a reply to Lineker, who wrote on Wednesday after their 2-0 home defeat to title-chasing Liverpool : "Arsenal may have lost but they're heading in the right direction under Arteta. No doubt."
Morgan is yet to reply to Lineker's tweet, but later wrote: "I think the disconnect I feel with many Arsenal fans at the moment is that we haven't won the league for so long (18 years) many of the younger ones genuinely think coming fourth is an incredible achievement worthy of wild excitement and possible bus parades. I have loftier ambitions."
Writing in his column for The Sun, Morgan revealed what Arteta must achieve to keep his job. Whether anyone at Arsenal has taken note of the broadcaster's critique is another question.
"For all his tough guy talk and endless 'trust the process' bull****, Arteta’s so far been a demonstrable failure at Arsenal," claimed Morgan. "He’s been in charge for two years and 114 matches now - and has a win record of just 53 per cent, less than [Arsene] Wenger's, whose last decade was woeful, and Unai Emery's.
"Yes, he won the FA Cup within months of taking over (thanks to two goals by Aubameyang). But for a club like Arsenal, it’s winning the Premier League and Champions League that matters and on which real success should be judged.
"In Arteta’s first half-season, we finished eighth. Last season, we finished eighth again and didn’t qualify for any European competition for the first time in 26 years... if we don't make the top four this season, and even that 'achievement' seems such a lowly ambition for a supposed big club, then he shouldn't be given a pay rise, he should be sacked".
