Mikel Arteta admits he harbours ambitions of creating a successful dynasty at Arsenal. However, with this year’s Premier League title still on the line, his focus is on the short-term.
The Spaniard has worked wonders in the last few years crafting a young, hungry title-challenging squad at the Emirates and while their improvement is front of mind every day, he doesn’t want to be distracted from the job at hand; beating Bournemouth in tomorrow’s early kick-off.
“My dynasty is win tomorrow,” he joked in his pre-game press conference. “Play really good and win tomorrow. This is my dynasty.
“I would love to do that [create a dynasty], that’s something that we had a vision for, we had an understanding of how we want to do it but then it’s delivering.
“The demands here are so big and the expectations are going to be bigger and bigger. My job is to fulfil them and to find the tools and communicate in the right way to try to achieve them. Certainly, the hope and ambition is to go much further than where we are right now.”
Appointed Arsenal’s head coach in December 2019, Arteta will climb up to third in the list of longest-serving current managers in England’s top flight when Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool in the summer. Having signed one contract extension already, in May 2022, there’s an expectation he’ll sign another before his current deal ends in the summer of 2025.
There are no suggestions that talks have taken place yet but he doesn’t talk like a man who is planning his next move.
“I’m focused right now on what we have to do and the matches ahead. Then we’ll have the same sit down, analyse what we’ve done, what we have and certainly how we’re going to be better. That’s the only objective that we have, how we’re going to be better, much better next season.”
It would be a remarkable achievement if Arsenal were to snatch this season’s title from Manchester City’s grasp. As things stand, all Arteta’s players can do is win their remaining three games and hope that the reigning champions make an unlikely slip-up.
Asked how it feels to be going for the title at this time of the season, he said: “You just want to win [the title] and to win you need others to drop points and you are hoping for that to happen.
“Then you have to manage your emotions because it doesn’t matter what happens on that day. There’s still a lot of games and points to play. You’re going to have to perform, prepare and win the next match in order to maintain that momentum. And this is what we are trying to do.”
Regardless of what happens come the end of this season, Arteta deserves a lot of credit! Guardiola has won the title 11/14 seasons he has been a coach. He is a freak of nature and I wonder why people don’t look at it from that perspective when they call other coaches “bottlers”. It’s just not easy to win a title in a league where he is. Having said that, we had a brilliant first half of the season last time out and faded away. This time, we had a wobbly start and are finishing strong. I strongly believe that we… Read more »
Pep is a very odd coach. His numbers are superb. But it is hard at least for me, to give props to someone who forver in charge of giants in every league with all possible advantages. I’d to see him manage a Serie A struggling giant and see how far he gets.
MA on the other hand has to be commanded for injecting some form of unpredictability and jeopardy in a league that has recently been Dominated by financial doping.
Pep has been manager of the wealthiest and biggest clubs in the leagues he’s managed in. Would love to see what he’d achieve with a club in mid table, that would be a true test of his ability as a manager.
Guardiola (won’t call him ‘Pep’) is flash, he has never taken on a real challenge. Every team he’s coached have had one or more massive advantages over their opponents and with that in mind his record in the CL could even be seen as underwhelming. He’s obviously a brilliant coach and will go down in history, but for me there are too many asterisks (maybe 115 or more) to consider him one of the greatest. He has a very good publicity machine behind him too but it doesn’t wash with me. I can respect his achievements but give me Klopp… Read more »
I really wish we had not lost to Fulham. Unless Fulham beat City, then all is forgiven
On the last the Hammers will help us win the title, I think.
Or Aston Villa.
On Paddy Power we are 2/1 for the title. If someone told me one day one that with 3 games to go we’d nearly have 50/50 chance of winning the title I’d have taken it. Fuck it, I’m getting my hopes up I’m ready to be hurt again! COYG
I too am extremely pleased, but 2/1 is a long way from 50/50
I know but “nearly 50%” sounds better
Someone’s new to math.
I would say City have a 65% chance. Arsenal 35%. Liverpool zero.
A more accurate estimation of odds would be 115/1
Where does Arteta rank ? Below Chapman and Wenger for now. Is he above Gorgeous George ? I know he’s won nothing so I’d say not yet. But if we win just one title versus this City team I’d say he goes third. After all – GG was fighting a Liverpool team on the decline. City aren’t. Yet. I am loving that Arteta is more early Arsene and. graham than late Wenger in philosophy I must say. Fannying about, being “the neutral’s favourite “ and cup runs always feel a bit Spursy. After all, we are the only team that… Read more »
Not sure but I think after a few more seasons it will be a different conversation. Really liking Arteta
Er he won the FA Cup in 2020.
Keep in mind we’re in a much more competitive era where mid-table teams are buying top talent from big European clubs. If we achieve 89 points, in how many years would that have won the title for us? Wenger won a title with 78 points! Even Klopp came second with 97 points – completely ridiculous!