Friday, Dec. 20 marks five years since Mikel Arteta took charge of Arsenal. Over the course of his 257 games at the helm, Arteta has delivered 152 victories and restored the Premier League club as a credible contender for the game’s biggest prizes.
Arteta arrived at Arsenal with a five-phase plan to transform the club. The Spaniard has always been coy about the details but the last step is surely to win major trophies. It would be the culmination of half a decade’s work, and Arteta explained on Tuesday how he would reflect upon the milestone.
“I don’t drink wine but it will be a special day, five years in this job of a club of this size is a big thing so I am very grateful,” he said. “I won’t do a celebration but I will reflect on it, and we will have some memories and look through pictures and comments and a few moments that we have spent together and recall it and value it because it is quite a long time.”
Arteta’s first step into management has been a dramatic rollercoaster, dealing with complexities arising from the COVID-19 pandemic during his first season, instigating a radical overhaul of the squad and going toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City side. Here are the key moments of his tenure so far.
August 2020: Winning the FA Cup
Nothing could validate the formative work of a young manager like delivering silverware at a club starved of success less than nine months into the job. Whereas Arsenal’s 2017 triumph resembled a last hurrah for Arsene Wenger, the Gunners’ win at Wembley three years later felt like a positive signpost for the future.
Arsenal had drifted as a club in Wenger’s final years and it was a slide his successor, Unai Emery, was unable to halt. Arteta began to reverse that trajectory by instilling a structure and discipline which enabled him to become the first Arsenal manager to win a major trophy in their first season in charge since George Graham in 1986-87.
They did it the hard way, beating Manchester City in the semifinal and then Chelsea in the final. Against City, they had 30% possession, four shots in the whole game and won 2-0. Against Chelsea, they registered 41% possession, three shots on targets and scored twice in a 2-1 win. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored all of them.
There was no major bust-up but a series of issues regarding discipline and timekeeping. Sources told ESPN the final straw was his late return from a club-approved overseas trip to see his mother but it was the latest in a string of incidents: he was fined for missing a COVID-19 test before a Europa League fixture; he was “reminded of his responsibilities” after footage emerged of him receiving a tattoo despite strict social distancing regulations; he was dropped for the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur hours before kick-off after reporting late for a team meeting on the day of the game.
Aubameyang was sent to train away from the first-team squad and would eventually join the list of players whose contracts were ripped up, joining Barcelona on a free transfer on Feb. 2 as the relationship deteriorated completely.
August 2022: Spending continues as Saka and Ødegaard flourish
After narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification at the end of the 2021-22 season, Arsenal spent again, chiefly through the acquisitions of both Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. Sources told ESPN at the time that City were willing to part with the pair, not just because they were deemed surplus to requirements but also that they did not view Arsenal as a significant threat.
That would change as the Gunners won 22 of their first 27 games across all competitions to establish themselves, not just as top-four challengers, but City’s main title rivals. They did so chiefly through the emergence of Saka and Ødegaard as two of the league’s brightest attacking talents.
March 2023: Arsenal 3-2 Bournemouth
Arguably the loudest Emirates Stadium has ever been. Needing a goal to complete their comeback from 2-0 down against Bournemouth, Arteta sent on winger Reiss Nelson for his third league appearance of the season. In the 97th-minute, he steadied himself to meet a loose ball and thrashed a shot past Neto to send the home fans into pure ecstasy.
April 2023: Saliba’s injury exposes squad depth
Arsenal held an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League when defender William Saliba suffered a season-ending back injury against Sporting CP. The Gunners exited the Europa League that night and were ultimately reeled in by City as Arsenal wilted under the physical and mental pressure.
Saka played 3,131 Premier League minutes across the season with Ødegaard clocking up 3,068. In attacking areas, City boss Pep Guardiola was able to rotate much more: Bernardo Silva amassed 2,119 minutes, Jack Grealish 2,063, Riyad Mahrez 2,063, Phil Foden 1,702. Even the headline act of Kevin De Bruyne (2,368) and Erling Haaland (2,686) were used far less than Arsenal’s two key attackers.
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Arteta responds to criticism of Arsenal’s open-play struggles
Mikel Arteta defends Arsenal’s record of scoring from open play after their goalless draw vs. Everton.
July 2023: Signing Rice for £100m
Arsenal’s aggression in the market to capitalise on their unexpected title push was palpable. They smashed their transfer record to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United, but in addition Kai Havertz was acquired from Chelsea for £67.5m and Jurriën Timber from Ajax for £34m. The shift in the club’s mindset was clear: Arsenal’s time had come. The three signings also continued a shift towards a more physically robust squad profile. Arsenal’s set-piece prowess owes plenty to Jover’s ingenuity but also the fact Arsenal are now a stronger and taller team than they were when Arteta took over.
October 2023: Finally beating City
Arteta inherited a poor Arsenal record against the top sides. In November 2020, the Gunners won a Premier League game at Manchester United for the first time in 14 years. In May 2021, they won at Stamford Bridge for the first time in a decade. In January 2023, the Gunners beat Tottenham away for the first time in eight years.
They were routinely thrashed by City but, finally, in October 2023, Arsenal beat Guardiola’s side at Emirates Stadium as Martinelli’s deflected 86th-minute winner was enough to secure a statement victory. All four of Arteta’s substitutes combined in that move to secure his first league win over the club where he had begun his coaching career as part of Guardiola’s staff.
April 2024: Losing to Villa and Bayern in four days
Arsenal only lost one league game in the second half of last season but, such was City’s relentless form, their 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa was enough to cost them the title. They were knocked out of the Champions League four days later at Bayern Munich and both results hinted at the need for further attacking reinforcements this summer.
Arteta this week bristled at the suggestion in a news conference that he had only won one trophy. “And the Charity Shield twice as well, no? So, it’s three,” he replied. The Community Shield, as it is now known, isn’t taken particularly seriously by serial winners. That is the next — and final — step Arsenal and Arteta need to take.
