Drico
Player Valuation: £60m
I don't think they fell for any line - they spun that line to their fans. Arsenal couldn't afford Ancelotti and a project with him at the helm.
Arteta would have been a classic "plucky Everton" appointment. Had he succeeded, he'd have been off as soon as a "bigger" club came calling, just as he was as a player. I don't hold that against him - his departure was a simple statement of our irrelevance.
In time, I would not be surprised if the Ancelotti/Arteta sliding doors moment will be looked at as the precise point when Everton surpassed Arsenal in the relevance stakes.
Of course, none of this is to say Arteta won't get the win on Saturday. This league, and Everton's form, is topsy-turvy. Until Carlo has a team mainly comprised of his own trusted lieutenants, this Everton side will take us on a rollercoaster.
Arteta would have been a classic "plucky Everton" appointment. Had he succeeded, he'd have been off as soon as a "bigger" club came calling, just as he was as a player. I don't hold that against him - his departure was a simple statement of our irrelevance.
In time, I would not be surprised if the Ancelotti/Arteta sliding doors moment will be looked at as the precise point when Everton surpassed Arsenal in the relevance stakes.
Of course, none of this is to say Arteta won't get the win on Saturday. This league, and Everton's form, is topsy-turvy. Until Carlo has a team mainly comprised of his own trusted lieutenants, this Everton side will take us on a rollercoaster.