Five years ago, the Mikel Arteta reign began when he was appointed Arsenal manager. At 44, he is one of the youngest managers in charge of a top club. A couple of second-place finishes in the Premier League are quite a good return for him, especially given that managers like Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp have been playing their trade in the league during the past decade. The Spaniard has also made his team play an attractive brand of football.
However, Arteta should not be satisfied with the solitary FA Cup he won as the Gunners’ boss almost five years ago. His performance as the Arsenal manager reminds one of that of Arsene Wenger in the Frenchman’s latter years in charge of the club.
How Mikel Arteta Reign Resembles Wenger’s
Wenger’s Final Years
Arsene Wenger won his last Premier League title in 2004 and continued as the Gunners’ boss until 2018. During his last 14 years, he won four FA Cups, but never managed to win the Premier League title during the same period.
However, Wenger ensured a top-four finish for the Gunners almost every season, thereby making sure that the North Londoners played in UEFA Champions League. During the last decade of his tenure at the club, he was regularly overshadowed by the Manchester United side managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, his old adversary, and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea. Even Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City and Antonio Conte’s Chelsea won the league title during the said period, but Arsenal did not seriously threaten to.
Mikel Arteta Similarities
The pattern seems to be repeating in case of Arteta, whose team has been a solid top-four contender during the past few years, but never seems to be able to go over the line. Guardiola’s Manchester City has virtually monopolized the league title with six of them in last seven years. Even Klopp won a Premier League and a UEFA Champions League title during the same time-frame, thereby eclipsing Arteta’s achievements.
Arne Slot, in charge of Liverpool at the moment in his debut season as a manager in Premier League, has inspired his team to obtain a six-point lead over the Gunners with a match in hand. Almost half the season is over and Arsenal are falling behind. It should find it really difficult to overcome that deficit within the remainder of it.
Arsenal have two easier matches left this month:
Arsenal will take on Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town in their remaining two fixtures in the Premier League this month. Both Palace and Ipswich have been struggling this season and find themselves in the bottom half of the league table.
Anything less than six points from those two matches should not satisfy Arteta and his team, as it would push them further back in the race for the league title. They are already behind Liverpool and Chelsea by some distance and those two teams have looked in better shape than the Gunners of late, too. The Gunners might still win the FA Cup or the EFL Cup, but there is stiff competition in those competitions, too.
It remains to be seen whether the North London club goes for a proper No. 9 in the upcoming Transfer Window in January. Either way, they should find it really difficult to taste success in terms of winning trophies this season, too. And the Mikel Arteta reign will be judged on that.