Manager Arteta

‘The best is yet to come’, launched the Basque coach Mikel Arteta to fans of Arsenal as a Christmas message. His words contained all the promise with which he arrived at London Colney, now celebrating five years, as coach of the Gunners. In that time, they have been runners-up in the Premier League twice (2023 and 2024), won the FA Cup title (2020), two Community Shields (2020 and 2023) and came close to beating Manchester City. The club is grateful to Arteta and he celebrated it these days by publishing a message on social networks: ‘Commitment, responsibility, passion. Five incredible years of Mikel Arteta, Here’s to many more memorable moments’ (Commitment, responsibility, passion, five incredible years of Mikel Arteta. Here’s to many more memorable moments!).

To leave no doubt about the mutual involvement in leading Arsenal to the glory of the most important titles, which began with his arrival in north London in December 2019, Arteta went a step further in his request to himself and responsibility. He is no longer the coach of Arsenalbut the club’s manager has been unofficial and omnipresent, with control over the Gunners’ entire sporting area, since the unexpected departure of the sporting director, the Brazilian Edu Gaspar. Now his sole aim is to return Arsenal to the throne of Premier champions, a title the club has not won since 2004, the year of ‘the invincibles’. Arsene Wenger.

The ‘big team’ of Henry, Pires, Bergkamp, ​​Campbell and Vieira marked the point of reconnection, served as a mirror and reference to generate current Arsenalas dynamic, also bold and versatile in tactics and, likewise, in players of a high technical level. That legendary stage was guided by the Alsatian standard Wengeridol in the Emirates, who tried to work at the youth level and contemplated the future under the script of economic containment. It’s Arsenal’s club culture, that Arteta was taken and tried to continue faithfully, following that famous phrase of Wenger, as a reference, which has become a school: “We don’t sign superstars, we create them.” Arteta is trying. He had already achieved this in Bukayo Saka, who was now injured, and was close Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Sketleyaged 17 and 18, are debutants this year.

Meeting in the USA

During the November international break, Arsenal’s entire football management team flew to the United States to meet its owners, the Kroenke family, and discuss planning for 2025. Following Edu’s resignation, the Arteta’s voice gained strength and fame to set the path in all fields. He has the full confidence of the American owners, thanks to the gradual growth of the team and how he put together a great work group, in addition to having the support of the fans in north London.

Arteta will determine the tasks of the position and together with the new sporting director they will now determine the signings and reinforcements in January. For now, Edu’s former assistant, Jason Ayto, stepped forward temporarily. Together they achieved the signing of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, David Raya and Mikel Merino. If Arsenal want continuity, Ayto seems a reasonable option. Arsenal will revert to a model where the sporting director focuses solely on the men’s first team. Former players Per Mertesacker and Clare Wheatley coordinate the club’s academy and women’s team.

Obsession and perfectionism

Arteta wants to take all the pressure off Arsenal’s results. His vocation is more reserved for those who are stubborn and persistent like him in leading a group. An obsessive lover of his work and a perfectionist, the Basque rarely breaks away from his work. So was Pep Guardiola, with whom he trained at Manchester City, and so did Jurgen Klopp, until he decided to say enough was enough. The price of this destruction is high and inevitable, given the focus of the football industry, the money at stake, the need for victories and the role of permanent representatives of clubs that coaches have in England.

In his first experience as a regular coach on a Premier League bench, Arteta has inspired the Gunners in these five years, but admitted that the next step is to “improve” the club, to dethrone Manchester City. “I still have a lot to learn and improve, but that’s what it’s about, if the goal is the big trophies.” Now third in the standings, close to Liverpool and Chelsea, Arsenal will face the Town of Ipswich at the Emirates with a spirit of improvement, as he will need to be without his star for a few weeks, Bukayo Sakainjured in the last game against Crystal Palace (1-5). The good news is that the Brazilian is recovering Gabriel Jesuswho has scored five goals in his last two appearances in the starting eleven.

From now on, Arsenal will need all their stars at their peak performance, to face the final leg of Arteta’s ‘long journey’. A League Cup semi-final against Newcastle awaits the Gunners, and a tough three-month chase to try to catch Liverpool in the Premier. But they are beginning to see on the horizon the long-awaited end of the titles, the “happy times” promised by Arteta, on the first day of his hope to return to London.