Mikel Arteta: The Arsenal boss has transformed Arsenal five years since his appointment but what's next? | Football News

Hitting new levels

It's time to get a title

Arteta had his new contract, his fans were on side, and academy players such as Saka and Smith Rowe were fully integrated. All he needed was a team ready to challenge.

Arsenal may have been edged out by Tottenham in the battle for fourth place in 2022, but there was an improvement in the following season that put them beyond not only Spurs – but most of the Premier League.

Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko were the main two arrivals of the summer, both poached from Manchester City, with successful experience in the draw. Arteta would go on to say that the pair “changed our world”.

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

“But from the moment Jesus and Zinchenko came, they gave a different belief and gave the last parts of our style of play.

“It really changed things. Our credibility went up and all of a sudden the art of what people could have changed.”

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

Suddenly, Arsenal could be complicated.

Zinchenko's arrival meant the Gunners adopted a regular full-back for the first time. Jesus linked up to form a front three with Saka and Martinelli, all of whom have achieved double figures for goals that term, while even Xhaka was among the top scorers.

Arsenal started the 2022/23 season winning 10 out of their first 12 games in the Premier League. Suddenly, the picture changed. They were in a title race that would last most of the season. Arteta had moved from a manager who got by with what he had, to one who was prepared to study the details.

“It's hard to say what makes him a special coach because he has so many qualities, but I think it's his attention to detail that I haven't seen anywhere else in football,” said Odegaard, who was also made Arsenal captain that summer.

“There are so many things he tells you that you've never thought about that just make sense when he explains them to you.

“I think his best qualities are 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. It is unbelievable.

Arsenal lost the title that season when Jesus and Saliba were injured, along with another unbeaten run at Manchester City, Guardiola saw them take the crown again. But Arteta responded by adding more layers to the team, his ruthlessness coming to the fore again.

Declan Rice arrived despite Thomas Partey being the main midfield. Jurrien Timber, who suffered an early season injury, threatened the places of Ben White and Zinchenko at the back. Fan favorites such as Tierney and Smith Rowe have been relegated to backup options.

The most ruthless move came in the goalkeeper's place. Aaron Ramsdale was named in the Premier League Team of the Year but David Raya arrived and the England international barely played again. Arteta again focused 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've never known football before,” Raya explains. Sky Sports.

“It's as crazy as it is for all the players who have come to Arsenal. I spoke to Declan Rice when I arrived and he said the same thing. 'When I came here, I didn't know football, I didn't know how. to play football.'

“That's how impressive Mikel is in the way he sees the game in a different way, and I think you can see on the pitch how good he is too. It is unbelievable. He's a great manager and a great guy and he pushes you to the limit. better.”

His desire to push Arsenal to their limits and maximize every part of the game is best summed up by their set-piece ability.

In Arteta's first full season in charge, they conceded the third fewest goals from set pieces in the Premier League. Now, with the help of set-piece guru Nicolas Jover, they have 23 Premier League goals from corners in 18 months.

“What I appreciate most about Arteta's management is his desire to push every edge and respect every aspect of the game,” says Stillman.

“We didn't have that for too long at Arsenal and people made fun of us for being weak, for being bad at set pieces.

“It has now come to the stage where people are mocking Arsenal for how good they are at set pieces, but for too long we didn't respect those parts of the game.

“I think Arteta knows the level of competition so you have to be great at everything to have a chance to win anything and that's what I am adds great value to his management.”

Arsenal got closer to the Premier League title last season but it wasn't close enough. City beat 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 leading duel winners in 2024, so he signed another in Mikel Merino, who won more duels than any player in Europe in the most recent campaign.

“To be at his level, you have to have a lot of strengths,” Merino told him Sky Sports. Two of the biggest ones for me are his desire to win, that killer mentality he has that we need to improve as players and wanting to improve to win games.

“And also the attention to detail. There is not one detail in the training session where he does not look. That makes him such a good coach.”

Is Arteta's Arsenal team now close to being finished? “He has the right team now, and he has built players into world-class players,” said Reiss Nelson, who started Arteta's first game in charge in 2019 and is now on loan at Fulham. Sky Sports.

“He's done an amazing job. Congratulations on what he's accomplished there.”