Mikel Arteta: The Arsenal coach has transformed Arsenal five years after his appointment but what's next? | Football news

Hit new levels

It's time for a title fight

Arteta secured his new contract, had fans on his side, and academy players like Saka and Smith Rowe were fully integrated. All he needed was a team ready for the challenge.

Arsenal may have been eliminated by Tottenham in the battle for fourth place in 2022, but huge strides were made the following season that saw them leapfrog not just Spurs – but most of the Premier League.

The two main arrivals that summer were Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, both from Manchester City, with winning experience. Arteta went on to say that the duo “changed our world.”

“It showed what City thought of us at that time,” Palmer recalls.

“But from the moment Jesus and Zinchenko came, they brought a different belief and brought the last parts of our game.

“It really changed things. Our faith soared and suddenly the art of the possible changed.”

Another big addition was the inclusion of Saliba, the speedy centre-back who moved Arsenal 10 to 15 yards up the pitch.

Suddenly, Arsenal could get complicated.

Zinchenko's arrival means the Gunners have adopted an inverted left-back on a regular basis for the first time. Jesus teamed up to create an attacking line with Saka and Martinelli, all of whom scored double figures that season, while even Xhaka was among the top scorers.

Arsenal started the 2022/23 season by winning 10 of their first 12 Premier League matches. Suddenly the picture changed. They were in a title race that would last most of the season. Arteta has transformed from a manager who managed with what he had, to a coach willing to delve into the details.

“It's difficult to describe what makes him a special coach because he has so many qualities, but I think it's the attention to detail that I haven't seen anywhere else in football,” says Odegaard, who also became Arsenal captain that summer.

“There are a lot of things he will tell you that you never thought about that will make sense when he explains them to you.

“I think his understanding of the game, all the details he sees, and his ability to make the team and the club work together and in the same direction are his best qualities. It's unbelievable.”

Arsenal lost the title that season due to injuries to Jesus and Saliba, coupled with another undefeated clash with Manchester City, resulting in Guardiola winning the title again. But Arteta responded by adding more layers to the team, and his cruelty came to the fore once again.

Declan Rice arrived despite Thomas Partey being a regular fixture in the midfield. Jurian Timber, who suffered a long-term injury at the start of the season, has threatened to replace Ben White and Zinchenko at full-back. Fan favorites like Tierney and Smith Rowe have been moved to backup options.

The most drastic move came in place of the goalkeeper. Aaron Ramsdale was named in the Premier League Team of the Year, but David Raya arrived and the England international barely played again. Arteta focused again on the details he wanted between the sticks.

“When you come to Arsenal and he tells you how he sees football, you feel like you have never known football before,” Raya said. Sky Sports.

“That's how crazy it is for every player who comes to Arsenal. I spoke to Declan Rice when I came and he said the same thing. “When I came here, I didn't really know football, I didn't know how. To play football.

“That's how impressive Mikel is the way he sees the game differently, and I think you can see on the pitch how good he is as well. It's unbelievable. He's a great manager and a great man and he pushes you to the limit to be the best.”

His desire to push Arsenal to their limits and maximize every part of the game possible is best summed up by their prowess at set-pieces.

In Arteta's first full season, they scored the third fewest goals from dead-ball scenarios in the Premier League. Now, with the help of set-piece expert Nicolas Joffre, they have 23 Premier League goals from corner kicks in 18 months.

“The thing I appreciate most about Arteta’s management is his desire to push every margin and respect every aspect of the game,” says Stillman.

“We didn't have that for a long time at Arsenal and people would make fun of us for being weak and being bad at free kicks.

“It's getting to the point now where people make fun of Arsenal because of how good they are at set-pieces, but we haven't respected those parts of the game for a long time.

“I think Arteta knows the level of competition that you have to be excellent at everything to have a chance of winning anything, and that's what I really appreciate from his management.”

Arsenal came close to the Premier League title last season, but they didn't get close enough. City outperformed them on the final day by two points. However, Arteta continues to shape his team and strive for improvement.

Kai Havertz was one of the best duel-winners in 2024, so he signed Mikel Merino, who won more duels than any player in Europe in the last season.

“To be at his level, you have to have a lot of strengths,” Merino says. Sky Sports. The two most important things for me are the desire to win, that killer mentality that he has that we as players have to develop and need to develop to win games.

“And also attention to detail. There isn't a single detail in a training session that he doesn't look at. That makes him a good coach.”

Is Arteta's Arsenal team on the verge of completion? “He's got the right team now and he's built players into world-class players,” says Reiss Nelson, who made Arteta's first start in 2019 and is now on loan at Fulham. Sky Sports.

“He did a great job. Congratulations on what he achieved there.”