Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the perfect marriage in Arsene Wenger’s footsteps
This is a situation we have never seen before. Indeed, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have been leading the Premier League since the 3rd round, with the two Manchesters fighting for the honours. After 19 years, the Gunners can finally bring home the title.
“Arsenal” is living a dream that it has not seen for almost 20 years. It was in 2004. At that time, Mikel Arteta was a young footballer, and Arsene Wenger had become a star in the English league. Three and a half years after his arrival, the Spanish technician is reaping the benefits of his hard work.
But the story between Arteta and the Gunners began earlier. The former Spanish midfielder, who spent time at PSG, spent his best years at Arsenal before coaching as a coach. He left the Gunners and joined Manchester City and Guardiola.
The Skyblues are doing well and the Guardiola/Arteta duo is getting along very well. Moreover, the Premier League’s greatest coach already appreciated the work of his deputy, who never stopped encouraging.
And then it was this phone call that gave Mikel Arteta the unique opportunity to start his career as the “n°1” coach. Arsenal’s board called on Wenger to help bring the club back into balance after his departure. When Unaï Emery was sacked on 29 November 2019, a year after his arrival, the Gunners had just one man on their board: Mikel Arteta. A risky choice for a London institution. At least partially.
Arteta arrives at a rebuilding club
Mikel Arteta arrives at Arsenal with ambition but is a big project. The end of the Wenger era, Arsenal expected it but were structurally unprepared.
Mikel Arteta learned a lot at City and we can only imagine Guardiola’s regret when he found out that his right arm had been severed. Pep understood. The Catalan knows Arsenal will recover under Arteta and is already wary of the threat ahead…
The 2019-2020 season is not a benchmark for Arteta, but it enhances his apprenticeship at the helm of a big club. The Gunners manager is gradually building his squad. The result exceeded expectations: three and a half years after his arrival, the Gunners have never looked stronger.
It lies in the new sporting policy put in place by Arsenal with the full involvement of the Spanish coach. First, a youth player policy reminiscent of what Wenger loves. Although Arteta takes some principles, he adapts them to modern football. What Wenger struggled with at the end of his tenure at the helm of the English club.
The club supports him and gives him time. The Spaniard, who has been threatened with going through tough times on several occasions, will never be questioned.
Saka, Odegaard, Smitrowe, Martinelli… these virtually unknown players bring great depth to the red and whites. The formula works well. Individuals emerge through the collective.
The Stars, Arteta and Arsenal no longer want it
The green rectangle is not the only favorite pitch of the Spanish coach. With great confidence from his leaders, Arteta adapts his workforce to his playing philosophy and principles.
He is very effective in the dressing room. Mikel Arteta is always willing to let youngsters take their place within a certain footballing framework. The Spanish coach’s plan: to renew a club that needs him with athletic performance.
So the Gunners realized they had to fire some dinosaurs out of the locker room. At the Emirates Stadium, the Spaniard was the first to question his nation at the start of his tenure. But it took a few months to get the pulse of the badly aging club.
So Arteta tackled the transfer window and bet on training. The Gunners academy is one of the best in the Premier League along with Southampton. While bringing a balance, found with recruitment abroad. Reinforcements are welcome, but with a certain logic.
Arteta puts pressure on Aubameyang and Lacazette to clear. So much so that the two players will leave in 2022. A push towards the exit to better control Arteta and his youngsters.
The Gunners are betting on youth and the perfect team
One important thing is missing to confirm the quality of his work: trophies. The ball has not made a sound in the English championship for almost 20 years. Except for this 2022-23 season. Arsenal and Arteta have understood how to play football with youngsters who have the values of a benchmark club.
Who could have predicted Odegaard’s renaissance as a playmaker? Almost no one. The Norwegian has matured and brings all his technical quality to the Gunners game. Behind him, Partey put himself in “general” mode to manage Arteta’s principles. The Gunner impressed against Tottenham (last weekend) and it came as no surprise. may even continue.
First of all, and many should be inspired by this, the recruitment cam works beautifully. By tuning his violins with a coach who loves his job and this club that gave him letters of nobility.
Arteta learned alongside two coaches with different playing principles. But with a philosophy that focuses on football and its game.
The eleven of the Gunners must be watched, there is no player who surpasses him, all of them are driven by one goal: the game and the title. Buoyed by the success, Arsenal know there is still a long way to go, even if it is getting shorter week by week.
Arsenal: a new model that appeals to everyone
This new sporting policy put in place by Arteta is working because the board has given him a fairly long and unambiguous lease. As with Wenger. The Gunners’ bosses used the same formula, as if they were sure the results would come. It should be noted that the residents of the Emirates Stadium won over the public and the board.
All this thanks to working confidently with a club that has never been in the rotten stories of the Premier League. In an atmosphere of great confidence, this new sporting model at Arsenal shows that the club was always ready to win, but did not deserve it.
At the end of the season, the Spaniard will be on the bench for the London club for 4 years. It seems he is in no hurry to leave. The generation of players who express themselves beautifully with his profile and command have what it takes to become the new ‘next generation’ of PL. A remake of what Wenger did more than 20 years ago in a completely different context.
Arsenal has been rationalizing its investments for several years. Even if the spending frenzy is no longer relevant in 2019. In addition, the Gunners have focused their attention on youngsters and players who are known by Europe’s big names but never questioned. The biggest transfers from “Arsenal” are Jesus for 70 million euros and Zinchenko for 38 million euros. It’s small for England, but it works for Arsenal.
