Piers Morgan has changed his tune on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after openly criticising the Spaniard last season.
Arsenal continued their perfect start to the season on Saturday, beating Leicester City 4-2 at the Emirates Stadium. Summer signing Gabriel Jesus scored twice and added a pair of assists for Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli. while a William Saliba own goal and a James Maddison effort got the Foxes on the scoresheet.
Broadcaster and Arsenal fan Morgan was noticeably critical of Arteta last season, with the London side narrowly missing out on a top four finish. The decision to let captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang join Barcelona was a particularly sore point for Morgan, but he appears to have taken a different stance this term.
Morgan's frustration with Arteta was laid bare last season when Aubemeyang starred in Barcelona's Clasico victory away to Real Madrid. "He’s been the world’s most lethal goal machine since joining Barcelona… and with every goal he scores, he makes Arteta look more absurd for giving him away," the 57-year-old said at the time.
Then, in May, Morgan called for the manager to be sacked after a defeat at Newcastle left the Gunner's top four hopes hanging by a thread. They won their final game of the season, but ultimately finished fifth behind rivals Tottenham.
"Arteta should be fired," Morgan said. "Instead he’s been given a new deal and massive pay rise. For abject failure. Utterly ridiculous."
Just three months later, though, things are very different. "BREAKING: I’m trusting the process," Morgan tweeted, tagging Arteta and sharing a photo of the manager giving two thumbs up.
Arteta was full of praise for Gabriel Jesus after the victory over Leicester. The striker arrived from Manchester City in a £45m move earlier in the summer and has hit the ground running in his new surroundings.
"They’re different goals, but I think the first is a top individual action to be able to produce that at that moment, especially when the game is 0-0," he said, per Arsenal.com. "It is something that brings the team to a different level and his work rate, his movement and his quality - he produced two assists in the game as well so he was terrific.
He also spoke highly of Arsenal's fans for the way they responded to Saliba's setback. The French defender had starred on his Premier League debut at Crystal Palace, and was backed by the crowd despite putting through his own net.
The way they reacted was something I’ve never seen in football; the amount of support and connection they are showing with us, and especially with William, lifted the team straight away," Arteta said. "I have to thank them so much for that."
