Arsenal’s Arteta claims Premier League to step from Guardiola’s shadow

Mikel Arteta was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City, but has pipped his former tutor to the Premier League title. Mikel Arteta has silenced his doubters by awakening the sleeping giant Arsenal, restoring the Gunners to the top of English football. Twenty-two years on from Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles”, Arsenal have finally got over the line to vindicate the Arteta project, which began with his appointment in 2019. Arsenal gambled on their former club captain si and-a-half years ago, even though he had no previous managerial experience. But Arteta was blessed with arguably the best apprenticeship, working alongside his longtime mentor-turned-title rival Pep Guardiola. When Guardiola arrived at Manchester City a decade ago, he sought out Arteta’s experience of the English game and someone he knew from their playing days together at Barcelona. “As a player and as a coach, he’s been an inspiration for me, and he’s the person who decided to bet on me, to include me as a second coach,” Arteta said of Guardiola last year. “I’ll always be grateful to him; otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” Yet, in stark contrast to many other modern coaches, Arteta has not followed the Guardiola approach in building a side that has pipped his former boss to the title. Arteta never quite made the grade at Barcelona, but the influences on his playing career have moulded his outlook as a manager. After brief spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Rangers, Arteta finally found a home at Everton under David Moyes. “I learned from him, on the field and off the field, about building a team and getting the right characters in the team to build what you want,” Arteta said of Moyes. An Arsenal side built on solid defensive foundations and propelled towards the title by their strength at set-pieces bears more resemblance to the Moyes playbook than to Guardiola’s philosophy. In his first meeting with the Arsenal hierarchy, Arteta reportedly presented a five-phase plan to drag the club back into contention for the top of the Premier League and in Europe. He quickly made his presence felt as seven players, including star names Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil, were unceremoniously let go as Arteta sought greater squad harmony. A FA Cup win just months after taking charge bought him time, but it took another six years for more silverware to arrive. In his first season, Arsenal finished eighth, their worst league finish for 25 years, and failed to improve on that in the COVID-affected 2020/2021 campaign. A year later, they botched the chance to qualify for the Champions League after a long absence with a late collapse to finish fifth. Even when major progress resulted in three successive second-placed finishes, Arteta’s ability to get Arsenal over the line was questioned. By building from the back, he was often criticised for being too conservative, and he has walked a fine line with his exuberant touchline antics. Even this season, many believed Arsenal had lost their way when they suffered four consecutive domestic defeats in March and April, ending their interest in the FA Cup and League Cup and allowing Manchester City back into the Premier League title race. But Arteta managed to right the ship this time to finish the campaign strongly, seeing off Guardiola’s men and moving to the brink of Arsenal’s greatest-ever season. If they beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30, they will be European champions for the first time. “Sometimes, when it is harder at the beginning, then it is better so to see that transformation and the joy in the people,” Arteta said ahead of Arsenal’s final home game of the season against Burnley. “It’s something that is beautiful to watch.” Arsenal’s nearly man finally has his moment to savour.