Arsenal, ‘made in Arteta’

the dreams of Arsenal revive by the hand of Mikel Arteta (San Sebastian, 1982). The day the Basque coach returned to the Emirates Stadium as a coach, he did so clinging only to his hopes of starting his career on the bench and to a prophetic motto, ‘Trust in the process’ (Trust in the process) where he wants to give. back to the ‘gunners’ in their long awaited glory days. Almost three years later, that slogan serves as the banner of renewed enthusiasm for Arsenalnow a rejuvenated and ambitious team, sole leaders of the Premier.

Falling into mediocrity since the march of Arsene Wengerthe club reborn in 2022-23 does not shy away from the past, but it is pure ‘made in Arteta’. Appointed general manager and renewed until 2025, the Basque coach sets the course in all decisions, after a long period of rebuilding that bore fruit this year. The Arsenal de Arteta ruled the Premier with surprising authority (12 wins in 14 games, one draw and just one loss, at Old Trafford). When they return to competition on Monday, on the special day of Boxing Day, they will do so as a proud team to beat. In England, the Christmas leader has won the title in 10 of the last 13 seasons. It is all hope for the ‘Gunners’ fans to regain the championship dream, which Arsenal have not achieved since 2004.

take back the style

On December 20, 2019, Mikel Arteta accepted the position of head coach of Arsenal. It just took a while. Take the project towards your ideas. He came from a brief period as an assistant to Pep Guardiolain Manchester City, which has almost no experience, but the owner of the Gunners, the American Stanley Kronke, definitely bet on him. He wants to recapture the essence of the past, the style that made him a champion.

After the ephemeral stage of Unai Emery at the Emirates, criticized for his tactics and for not controlling a divided dressing room, was called on Arteta it was done without fear. The aim was to recover the cohesive and fun game that Arsenal had enjoyed for so long Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman is a legend at Highbury, a legendary coach who also signed Arteta as a player. The teacher and disciple reconnected after a while. It is about returning to the past as a guide to forge the future.

The Arsenal which presides over Premier He regained the old signs, a combination of youth, courage and passion for attacking play. He wears the irreducible 4-3-3, inherited from Arteta’s past as a player at Barça B, and as an admirer of the ‘dream team’ of Johan Cruyff, which the Basque coach does not hide. Ball control, constant mobility and adaptability in fast English football. With these virtues, the new ‘gunners’ began to see the course and Arteta to mark the lines of his project. He demanded respect, discipline and humility from the players, and along the way, the players remained relevant but not overly involved, as Aubameyang, Ozil, David Luiz, Torreira, Guendouzi, Lacazette either Bellerinuntil the whole dressing room and the club come together on their ideas.

Despite all the difficulties, and in the difficult year of the pandemic, Arsenal won the Cup final (2-1) against Chelsea. It was his first title since 2017, and a turning point. This season, the team Arteta has taken a new step in quality with a recurring lineup that everyone at Emirates knows: Ramsdale; White, Salliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Xhaka; Then, Gabriel Jesus and Martinelli. The regularity of its results is remarkable. He achieved the best start in the club’s history and scored in all 14 games played. The Arsenal he commands the ball again and entertains, with the same style that Arteta had as a player, at Everton, at Glasgow Rangers, or, for five years, he remembered Wenger’s Arsenal, leading the midfield.

What’s new at Arteta is the strictness of its method, as opposed to the latter negligence which is blamed Wenger. He is among a new generation of coaches who have grown up with blackboards, ‘big data’ and technological advances to improve the game. He is a student of football, who has also gathered the reception of the whole club. Renewed as manager until 2025, he is free to invest 130 million in profitable signings such as Odegaard — the new leader in the field–, Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko Y Fabio Vieira. No doubt the Emirates. The course was set by Arteta. ‘Trust the process’. Total confidence for a reborn Arsenal that shines again.