While Graham Potter was gracious enough to laugh off the social media trend which dominated his final few days at West Ham United, not everybody – including Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta it seems – saw the funny side.
Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.
West Ham United kept Graham Potter in situ just long enough for him to be quizzed publicly on how it felt seeing pictures of his face edited onto David Sullivan’s cocktail-dress-clad partner doing the rounds all over social media.
And while Potter’s 15-year-old son clearly got a kick out of the whole thing, Mikel Arteta knows from experience that the fine line between banter and cruelty can often, and easily, be overstepped.
Though most Hammers fans obviously acted in good humour, the sight of a once-highly respected manager becoming a literal walking, talking, breathing meme in front of their own eyes did little to strengthen Potter’s already loose grip on the London Stadium job.
Mikel Arteta not happy with Graham Potter’s treatment at West Ham United
Arteta has endured his fair share of online-based jibes himself, of course. Especially during successive eighth-place finishes in 2020 and 2021.
And, at the risk of being labelled a little thin-skinned, the Spaniard feels that the critics would do well to remember that football managers are real people with real emotions and real families.
“A little word for Graham, because I think he is an exceptional manager,” Arteta said during his Friday press conference, determined to make his point even when asked specifically about the presence of Nuno Espirito Santo in the West Ham dugout.
“He has done that in various contexts in his career for a very, very long time. And then as a man, talking to a lot of players and people who have had the joy of working with him…
“Sad to see him go, especially with some of the things that happened on social media. A lot of the things that, in my opinion, to have the best league in the world, we have to improve. We have to make sure the people that are so important in our league are taken care of in the right way.
“I think we can do better in that and I hope we can learn from that.”
Arteta previews Nuno Espirito Santo challenge and gives Gabriel Magalhaes update
In comments which would come just 24 hours before his sacking, and Nuno’s rapid-fire appointment, Potter acknowledged that criticism-crossing-into-mockery is simply something under-pressure managers have to deal with in the modern game.
Especially when the manager in question has won just six, and lost 14, of his 25 matches in charge.
“Yes, I am aware of [the face swaps],” Potter said with a polite smile. “It made my 15-year-old son laugh a lot so you have to accept what comes with it [the job]. At times, [that is] ridicule but that is just the environment we are in and it is what it is.
“I haven’t given it too much thought and you can imagine I’ve got a few more important things than that to be honest. As I said, it is what it is and you have to deal with those things.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s fixture, meanwhile, Arteta anticipates a tough challenge against Nuno’s West Ham.
Potter’s replacement feels that improvements are already evident in the Hammers backline. But as Arsenal play down concerns over Gabriel Magalhaes’ fitness, Nuno’s impact in the set-piece department will be tested severely at the Emirates.
“We will have to wait and see until after training,” Arteta said when asked about the man who headed home a stoppage-time winner at Newcastle last weekend. “We’ve done almost nothing today. So, [we have to] see how everybody is.
“But we weren’t too concerned about [Gabriel after the Olympiakos win in midweek].
“[Scoring goals from set-pieces] is a fundamental part of a central defender, dominating both boxes. And he does that probably like nobody else. That is the joy of having him in the team.”
