At his unveiling as Arsenal manager a few days before Christmas in 2019, Mikel Arteta outlined the full extent of the challenges he faced to revive the club’s fortunes. Struggling in mid-table after a winless run of five league matches that included three successive home draws against Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton, Freddie Ljungberg had been placed in temporary charge after Unai Emery’s Arsenal tenure had ended the previous month.
“It wasn’t only the performance. It was the atmosphere and energy that I perceived when I was working around the place,” Arteta said of the mood inside the Emirates during Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City a few days earlier, on 15 December, when he was in the opposition dugout as Pep Guardiola’s assistant. “That worried me a little bit. I understand that they are used to success and fighting for things and at the moment it’s difficult for them to swallow the situation. So let me help.” Approaching five years and two new contracts later, Arteta has not only restored the balance of power in north London after finishing behind Tottenham in each of his first three seasons, the past two campaigns have also seen his young side give City a run for their money in the title race, as Arsenal attempt to finally emerge from the shadows of Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles and rekindle supporters’ dreams.
When his new three-year contract was confirmed on Thursday, Arteta made a pointed reference to the crucial role Arsenal’s fans have played in “transforming the club”. “When everything goes well it is easy to jump on the boat, but when times are more difficult we needed them so much,” he said. Yet with no home fixture until they face Bolton in the Carabao Cup on 25 September, Arteta will require all the help he can get from the supporters who make the trip across north London on Sunday.
Arsenal look set to face their arch-rivals without three frontline midfielders at the start of a week in which they will also travel to Europa League holders Atalanta in the Champions League before a showdown with City at the Etihad Stadium that could prove vital to his side’s prospects of silverware the season. In what must qualify as one of the biggest tests of his managerial career, Arteta must negotiate a way past Spurs without Declan Rice, who is suspended after his red card against Brighton, and the injured pair Martin Ødegaard and his £35m summer signing Mikel Merino. Perhaps mischievously, he refused to rule Ødegaard out of the game, despite the club captain returning from international duty this week on crutches.
Rice, Arsenal’s £105m record signing, and Ødegaard were the team’s driving forces last season and started 34 out of 38 Premier League games as Arsenal racked up a club-record most wins in a single campaign, while the arrival of Euro 2024 winner Merino had been expected to add an extra dimension to their midfield.
“It’s always difficult against the opponents that we will be facing, for sure,” said Arteta. “But we have tremendous players and a really good squad. We are really hungry and we want to do it. To deliver what we want, we need to be able to respond to these scenarios and the team is ready.”
The strong foundations Arteta has helped to build at Arsenal with the support of the sporting director, Edu, and co-chair Josh Kroenke mean Arsenal remain well equipped for this moment, despite sanctioning the departures of fringe players such as Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah.
The manager acknowledged that the squad has “certain limitations” but he will be hoping that the decision to recruit versatile players who can cover a number of positions pays off. “There are certain things that we cannot control and what happened in the last two weeks is extremely unlucky,” said Arteta. “We have to face it, but hopefully during the season it will be very different.”
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Almost exactly 13 years after making his debut as an Arsenal player against Swansea, there is no hiding the passion Arteta feels for the club. At one stage during his press conference on Friday, he was asked whether there is any club or country he could have left for after entering the final year of his previous deal. “No, the emotional attachment that I have, that my family and kids have, the experience that I have with the people is too strong,” he said.
But even at the age of 42, Arteta knows it will have to come to an end at some point. And while he laughed off suggestions he could one day build a legacy to match the likes of Wenger or Guardiola, only winning the Premier League would satisfy him and Kroenke, who Arteta has previously described – along with his father and Arsenal owner, Stan – as “the hungriest sports people I’ve ever met”.
“Obviously they showed a lot of trust and belief in me,” he added. “I think we have a very special bond and connection.
“We share exactly the same vision and they have given us a lot of responsibility to take this club where we all want. Not only them but a lot of people at the club who are very much aligned with what we want to do. We all have the same motivation.”