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.
September 2020: Arteta is ‘promoted’ to manager
Arteta was hired with the job title of head coach, a reflection of the desire to shift away from the overt autonomy which many inside the club felt had created the latter-day stagnation under Wenger. Nine new department heads were hired as football expertise was added to the club and responsibilities were carved up to create a new structure.
However, Arteta recognised the culture of the club needed changing amid concerns about the dressing-room dynamic and a drop in standards as Arsenal slid from top-four regulars to also-rans.
Explaining the decision at the time, then chief-executive Vinai Venkatesham said: “That’s recognition of what he’s been doing from the day he walked in the door, but also where we see his capabilities. He is doing a great job of coaching the first team and that’s his primary responsibility, but there is so much more that he can bring and that’s why we’re making this change.”
Sources have told ESPN that this move was designed to reinforce Arteta’s authority ahead of what would, in time, become a brutal and uncompromising squad overhaul.
December 2020: Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea
Empty stadiums and, later, restricted attendances due to COVID-19 had made a connection between Arsenal supporters and Arteta’s team more difficult. Arsenal went into this game in 15th place and were seven games without a win.
Bereft of the efficiency shown in that FA Cup win, social media was awash with frustration at the perfunctory nature of Arteta’s approach. The wider mood wasn’t helped by the club announcing earlier in the year plans to make 55 staff redundant as a result of the pandemic’s financial impact.
Played on the anniversary of his first game as manager, it was the kids who turned up to party. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, both aged 19, and 20-year-old Emile Smith Rowe revitalised Arsenal in a 3-1 victory which showcased the potential in the club’s next generation.
January 2021: Özil is forced out
Arteta spoke at his first news conference about changing the culture of Arsenal, and over time he began to question the character of several senior squad members.
News of a training ground bust-up between David Luiz and Dani Ceballos leaked to the press and Arteta vowed to find the mole, warning “there will be consequences.” It was just one of many incidents where Arteta questioned the motivation and desire of his players and the Spaniard sought approval from the club’s owners, Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE), to begin pushing players out of the club.
The identity of the mole was never publicly revealed but in January, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Özil became the first of what would end up over the next couple of years to be a total of nine players who would have their contracts ripped up. This wasn’t cheap — sources told ESPN that Özil received around 90% of £7 million owed to him over the remainder of his deal — and owners KSE privately found this one of the most painful aspects of their time at the club. But it was another sign of their steadfast commitment in Arteta’s judgement.
Özil was heralded as the new Dennis Bergkamp when arriving from Real Madrid for what was then a club-record fee of £42.4m in 2013. He became their highest-paid player on £350,000 a week but, as a result of Arteta’s judgement, left the club in ignominy.
August 2021: Worst-ever start… but big spending begins
Arsenal ended August with a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City, and lost their opening three matches without scoring a single goal for the first time in their history. But in the middle of that run, midfielder Martin Ødegaard joined the club for £30m from Real Madrid. Defender Ben White and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale also arrived as Arsenal pursued a policy of signing promising players under the age of 23. They ended 2021 as the biggest spenders in the Premier League.
This was also the summer Arteta convinced set-piece coach Nico Jover to join them from City. Since Jover joined Arsenal, they have scored more goals from corners than any other Premier League club.
December 2021: Aubameyang is stripped of the captaincy
This was another sign of Arteta’s ruthless streak. He had played a key role in convincing Aubameyang to sign a new contract less than 18 months earlier and yet, in front of the “All or Nothing” documentary cameras, Arteta stripped him of the captaincy.
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.
1:20
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.