Mikel Arteta takes charge of his 200th Arsenal game tomorrow knowing his win record at the milestone is better than any of his predecessors in the Gunners’ dugout.
In his first 199 games, the Spaniard has led his side to 115 victories. In comparison, Arsene Wenger had 111 wins in 200 games while George Graham is close behind with 107.
Unlike Wenger and Graham, Arteta hasn’t brought the championship home in that time, although an FA Cup success seven months after he became head coach is nothing to be sniffed at.
“I’m really proud to reach that number,” said Arteta ahead of Saturday’s trip to the Community Stadium.
“At a big club, it’s always difficult – you have to win a lot of games. Hopefully, a lot more positive things will come.
He added: “I’m very proud, I’m very grateful. So many people around have contributed in a massive way to be here almost for four years.
“A big thank-you to all of them because they’ve been instrumental to believe in me through the difficult moments, to inspire me, to make me better, to give me support and so much joy every single day to be working with them.”
One man in particular has been a stalwart alongside Arteta; his Technical Director, Edu Gaspar.
This week the Brazilian was crowned Best European Director at the Golden Boy Awards and Arteta was full of praise.
“I’m really grateful for him, for the club, for the setup that we have and the enjoyment that we have working together,” he said.
“I think he fully deserves it. I think he’s been instrumental in the way that we have changed recruiting in the last few years and hopefully, we can get awards in terms of titles now, which is the next step as well.”
Amazingly, as Arteta approaches his fourth anniversary as a coach at the Emirates, there are only seven coaches in English professional football who’ve held their position longer than him.
They include tomorrow’s opponent Thomas Frank, Premier League peers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, as well as the coaches of Sutton United (Matt Gray), Coventry City (Mark Robins), Accrington Stanley (John Coleman) and Harrogate Town (Simon Weaver). The latter leads the way having been in his role since 2009.
Congratulations, Chief
Privileged to have him.
Fifty games a year? Is my maths right?
One FA Cup and one top four “trophy”, not bad for your first job if you have to rebuild a team. We can’t afford another 200 games to win the league and CL though.
i don’t know about you, but as long as we win the champions league, i can wait another 200 games
I’m just waiting for one more title, or a CL, then I might be done with football
He possesses the same kind of untapped potential as Theo Walcott, which lasted until his retirement. Unlike French players who are often scrutinized by the English press, Theo was given a free pass by them. Similarly, I see a similar pattern with Arteta, where he is surrounded by friendly journalists who have created a perception of potential around him. I hope this turns out to be a positive outcome in the end.
Surely if he has been there four years it’s only the third anniversary? The first anniversary being one year after joining not the day he joined.
Let’s try and figure it out.
He joined in December 2019.
December 2020 – first anniversary.
December 2021 – second anniversary.
December 2022 – third anniversary.
December 2023 – fourth anniversary.
December 2024 – Current Champions League holders.
Wow. Mikel is one of English football’s longest serving managers. Crazy