Arsenal ‘should have got Patrick Vieira’ as Gunners backed to regret Mikel Arteta contract

Mikel Arteta outlines aims after signing new Arsenal contract

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Arsenal should have waited before giving Mikel Arteta a new contract and pursued Patrick Vieira instead, according to former West Ham midfielder Don Hutchison. Arteta signed a new deal earlier this month to keep him at the Emirates until 2025 but Hutchison believes there will be some regret on Arsenal’s part.

The Gunners are set to miss out on Champions League qualification again this season. The 2-0 defeat to Newcastle on Monday means finishing in the top four is out of their hands ahead of the final game of the season against Everton.

But Arsenal did not see fit to wait until the end of the campaign before handing Arteta a new deal. The north London side clearly feal the Spaniard is the right manager to lead them forward, even if the season ends as now expected.

But Hutchison reckons the Gunners board have missed a trick. He appeared on Monday’s edition of ESPN FC Extra Time.

The pundits were replying to a viewer’s question which asked if Arsenal were too hasty to give Arteta a new deal. And Hutchison claimed they should have waited and taken Vieira from Crystal Palace instead.

He replied: “Do you know what? That is a brilliant question because I was chatting to [former Arsenal player] Stewart Robson.

“We bumped into each other and I said to him ‘they should have been patient and they should have waited for Patrick Vieira’. Patrick Vieira’s got the steel, he’s got the character and they have rushed into Arteta. Arsenal have done it yet again and I bet they’re thinking ‘what have we done?’.”

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Vieira has led Palace to 13th in the Premier League in his first season in charge. He has previously been linked with the Gunners job following his illustrious spell as a player and captain at the club.

However, Liverpool legend Steve Nicol disagreed with Hutchison. He believes Arsenal are better off sticking by Arteta and continuing what he has started.

Nicol said: “I don’t know about that. There’s a completely different expectation on managing Crystal Palace, who were everybody’s favourites to go down and manage an Arsenal who better be in the top four.

“That’s a different ball game completely. And I actually don’t agree with the question.

“I think what Arteta needs to do now is to get three or four good players, proper players, that will make this team a top four side. Because they’ve got a way of playing, they look as though they’ve got an understanding of what’s required now.

“They don’t always produce it and the run they’ve been on tells you that, but they look as though they’ve got some sort of base to build from. So why are you going to go and throw that away?”

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