Arsenal are at a crossroads. There is so much still to play for this season – in the Premier League and the Champions League, the two most important competitions – but they are reaching a defining summer under Mikel Arteta.

Mikel Arteta expects a decision over Arsenal ’s new sporting director to be reached “relatively quickly”. Edu resigned as Arsenal’s sporting director in November to take up a role working for Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis’ stable of clubs.

When you manage a top club like Arsenal, where expectations are sky-high, you naturally expect the board to provide unwavering support. Mikel Arteta, throughout the first half of the season, could see that his team was lacking in certain areas,