It’s no secret that Mikel Arteta and Edu concocted a five-year plan to return Arsenal to the top of European football.
A clear structure for improvement was much-needed after the scattergun approach of the immediate post-Wenger years and after a few bumps in the road – a couple of very forgettable eighth-place finishes and a global pandemic – both are now satisfied that the club is heading in the right direction.
The Gunners probably should have qualified for the Champions League last season. It didn’t happen but lessons were learnt and we’re dead certs to put things right this year. Who knows, maybe we’ll even qualify with another league title to our name.
What happens after that? Nobody seems willing to talk about specifics just yet, but the fabled “process” will continue. On Monday night at the London Football Awards, Edu revealed “there’s still a lot of things to do” and Arteta agrees.
Facing the media after he was named Manager of the Year, the Spaniard said: “We are in ‘Phase Three’ and a little bit ahead of schedule.
“It’s private but [the plan] is just my understanding and vision of what the club was, and what we have to capture and develop. It’s my idea of the decisions we have to take to move it forward.
“I take things day by day. It’s the only thing you can do when you’re a manager. You have to be focused on daily and not get too lost.
“But the bigger picture is clear. I know what I would like to do and what I would like the club to be in certain months, but we have to impact today’s decisions in the best way to be where we want.”
Arteta also said he firmly believes that Stan Kroenke and son Josh have “big ambitions” for the club.
The pair, who are now Co-Chairs of the club, today released a statement stating their “objectives and ambition will never waver – to field teams that compete for trophies at the highest level”.
At a time when other American owners have weighed up walking away from their Premier League clubs, Arteta sees signs his bosses are in it for the long-term and for the right reasons.
“It took some time to position themselves where they wanted in terms of how much of the club they own and how much they could decide and how much they could really benefit the club in the way they believe is right,” he said.
“I believe they were really patient in exactly the right way. Now they have shown they are fully committed, they have big ambitions and they are fully behind the club to give everything they can to make it successful.
“I am convinced the owners will continue to do everything to make us very successful and continue to invest in the club in the right way.”
Here’s hoping that is the case because more money is pouring into English football and Arteta can see it’s only going to get even more competitive.
“This season we have the opportunity [to win the title] and we’re full of enthusiasm and positivity to try to accomplish that,” he said.
“Next season, for sure when you look at the investment, the ownership [situations] as well, there’s a lot happening in the league and in football in general.
“Bigger challenges are going to come, so we need to be ahead of the game if we are going to sustain it.”
If we are only in phase 3 of 5 and have a chance to win the PL (and we will be in the CL next year) the way that they are working to achieve the plan is going very well. Well done to Mikel, Edu and everyone behind the scenes and the team getting things done.
Inspired work!
We got our arsenal back
Phase 5 is centre back wingers and an inverted goalkeeper.
😆
Any plans for fans?
Every fan that enters the stadium is fitted with a decibel meter.
Any fan that doesn’t sing loud enough is cattle prodded by a roaming Mo Elneny.
🤣🤣
Good to know the Kroenkes are in this longer term and are ready to pump in a lot of money. Just like Arteta said, the league is going to get tougher in terms of (financial) competition from billionaire owners and nation states like Qatar.
Is this the phase when we win the league!
They always said this season, the aim was CL qualification
Agreed. I always thought that Phase 3 was CL qualification, Phase 4 was win the PL, Phase 5 was win the CL
So could be Arsenal v Brighton/Bayern/Barca/Brentford at Wembley in CL final next year, would be awesome … esp after winning Comm shield v Brighton next year;
I can feel a month-long 2024 overseas road trip coming on …
Palace average today must put them away early and Partey on. COYG
Phase 3 is win the PL, Phase 4 win the CL, Phase 5 win both
Maybe (probably!) the “Phases” aren’t about trophies, but more likely tied to stuff you’ll find deep in excel-sheets. If your business plan is to “win the league” then you’re bordering on delusional. There are too many factors outside your control for this to be a viable business goal. You could do a million things and spend a trillion pounds without getting that exact result, because.. it’s football. And thank f*ck for that. That doesn’t mean it can’t be the ambition, or something you work tirelessly towards – but more than likely, “phases” are about economy, figures and stats, not silverware.… Read more »
Disagree. Only silverware counts. If you win the silverware the financial performance measures take care of themselves like Man U.
So, what, 19 clubs should just give up every year?
I hope we keep Arteta at least for a decade to let his plan play out. I love to hear this kind of thinking.
At the end of the last season I was a doubter, because I understand football very well. And now I am a believer because he understands football a bit more than me…
Ah let’s be a little clearer, he knows football a lot more than anyone appearing in these comments.
The cohesion between Edu and Arteta has been a massive part of the success we are seeing at the moment.. the relationship between the intrigues me, who is the brains behind the ‘process’ or is it completely 50-50?
With those guys, it’s more like 100/100. These people do not give only 50% to *anything* 😀