Arsenal news - 'This cannot be the barrier' - Mikel Arteta says abuse is putting off prospective managers
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Updated 22/10/2021 at 08:04 GMT
Steve Bruce explained this week the toll that criticism from some sections of the Newcastle support had taken on him, suggesting he was not keen to return to management after leaving the club this week. Arteta explained that friends of his were keener on roles as assistant coaches rather than the scrutiny and spotlight that being a manager would bring.
‘Very sad’ – Arteta on Bruce statement after leaving Newcastle
Mikel Arteta has said that abuse is putting off prospective and returning coaches from taking managerial roles.
Steve Bruce revealed this week the toll that abuse from Newcastle fans had taken on him after departing the club after two years in charge.
Arsenal manager Arteta revealed that abuse like the kind subjected to Bruce was causing potential managers to re-consider if they wanted to take top-level positions.
"I was really sad after reading that statement from Steve [Bruce]," Arteta explained ahead of Arsenal's Premier League fixture against Aston Villa.
"First of all because I know him personally and secondly because of what he transmitted in his words. He's managed over 1,000 games and he's telling you, with that experience, that he struggles with that kind of abuse.
I think we have to reflect. We can't take for granted and accept certain things because they are how they are.
"I have a lot of friends who are doing the [coaching] courses who doubted whether they want to take the hot seat or whether it is better to be an assistant or something else."
In an exit interview with the Daily Telegraph, Bruce outlined that he had been called "a stupid, tactically inept cabbage-head" and a "useless, fat waste of space".
Newcastle fans had been frustrated by the club's lack of progress under the experienced manager, who has left the club after the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle.
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Arteta on ‘difficult match’ against Aston Villa on English PL
Arteta further revealed that experienced coaches are also re-assessing whether it is worth returning to management, such is the nature of some abuse suffered.
Asked whether prospective coaches have told him that they are concerned, Arteta said: "Yes, and people who have been managers already. They are thinking about not doing it again.
"For me, this cannot be the barrier - because you have fear about the treatment you are going to receive.
"You cannot lose the focus, the passion and the love - the reason why you made the decision in the first place to do that.
"I think the enjoyment is that big that it should not stop you, but it is important that we take care a little bit of the environment and putting things in the right place.
"If not, I don't think it will get better. I think it will get worse if we don't do anything about it."
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