I'm not sold on Arteta, not by any stretch.
And that's fine, but when you think about the size of the job on hand - it's massive; and it's not the type of rebuild that any top tier manager (Allegri, Ancelotti) needs to bother with, and nor would they be excited by it... they (rightly) want roles at clubs that can win trophies in the short/med term. And that probably isn't us, we're a med/long term proposition. In addition, why would they come to us with a relatively minimal budget, at a time when the club is a relative shambles off the pitch as well as on it.
We need a complete rebuild... and it's going to take a minimum of 2 seasons (4 windows). So with that we need someone who's willing to commit... and also who can garner the backing of the board/KSE and their understanding that this isn't a quick fix - and we may not yet have hit rock bottom.
There are other candidates who would give me more confidence than Arteta who have done similar at other clubs (Hi Ado, Hi Julian, Hi Poch) of varying size, and could well do it for us too... but... if you've got a good/growing/established reputation at a mid-tier continental club, the choice you make in when and where you make the step to a *big club is absolutely critical - and that's when we begin to get to shaky ground. Our squad is a mess; our fanbase is a shouty mess, our club structure is a mess, our playing style is a mess, our identity is a mess, and our owners appear to lack engagement in said mess... and sure, there is an opportunity for someone to come in and fix it - but there's also a huge amount of challenges there - particularly for a young up and coming manager.
Arteta and his history could mitigate some of those challenges to varying degrees (of course, not all - nobody does). And I'd love nothing more than for him to come in and build a team of tireless, gritty, passy, fouly, quality, defendy, hard working winners... but it'll take time; just as it would for anyone else.
He's not my first choice; but if he's given the keys - then I'll support him... just as I will whoever else comes in. It's going to be a rough ride regardless, but hopefully he/they can halt the slide and slowly build us back up again.
Up the Arse!
*are we still a big club?