Mikel Arteta says putting pen-to-paper on his new three-year deal made for a “really special day” and that he’s excited for the future of the club.
Appointed head coach in December 2019, the Spaniard will become the club’s seventh longest-serving men’s team manager should he see out his current deal. He’s currently 11th on that list and has a better win rate (59.23%) than all of those above him.
“I feel so happy, I feel very proud, it’s a really special,” he told Arsenal.com after signing his new contract.
“I’m very excited and just looking forward and looking ahead to what is coming. I’m very, very excited.”
Asked what persuaded him to stay longer, he was quick to recognise the impact of all his colleagues; those above and alongside him and the squad of players he’s assembled.
“It was the people and the ambition of the club. I feel extremely lucky to work every single day with the good people that we have in the organisation. I start with my coaching staff, they are relentless at supporting me, challenging me, inspiring me, giving me ideas, making me a better coach and a better person every single day.
“It goes to the staff around that is a joy, the energy that they bring in, the dedication, the love and the passion they have for the game and to get better. And then it goes up to the board – the support, the vision, the relationship we have built with them.
“We have Tim [Lewis, Executive Vice-Chair] that since he joined I have an incredible relationship and learnt so much from him, and he’s been instrumental in everything that we have done. Rich [Garlick, Managing Director] as well joined in a role and has grown so much and has become again so instrumental in the way that we function and make decisions.
“And then Edu, as well. He was the first one to knock on my door and he made a big call to have big belief in me and put all the trust he had in me to drive this massive boat in the direction and the way we both had a vision to do it, and it’s been pivotal. Our relationship has been incredibly strong, very honest, very transparent and I’m very grateful for that.
“And then you take it to Stan and Josh [Kroenke]. They are the hungriest sportspeople that I have met, and you can tell what they have achieved over the years. But as well, their emotional intelligence, how caring they are and the level of support that they give you and trust, has been something incredible.
“Then it’s down to the players. I see a smile on their faces every day when they come in, I see that will to get better, and my objective is to get the best out of them, improve their lives, make sure that we educate them as human beings in the best possible way and prepare them for what is coming because they live in a really special environment and make sure that they fulfil their talent and potential and they achieve the maximum goals that they can do for their careers, because if that’s the case we’re going to be very successful as a team.”
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Top 11 Arsenal managers by tenure
1. Arsene Wenger
1996-2018 | 21 years, 7 months, 12 (57.25% win rate)
2. George Allison
1934-1947 | 13 years, 4 days (46.24% win rate)
3. Bertie Mee
1966-1976 |9 years, 10 months, 15 days (44.71% win rate)
4. Tom Whittaker
1947-1956 | 9 years, 4 months, 23 days (47.21% win rate)
5. George Graham
1986-1995 | 8 years, 9 months, 7 days (48.91% win rate)
6. Herbert Chapman
1925-1934 |8 years, 6 months, 27 days (49.64% win rate)
7. Terry Neill
1976-1983 | 7 years, 5 months, 7 days (44.95%)
8. George Morrell
1908-1915 | 7 years, 2 months, 3 days (36.57% win rate)
9. Leslie Knighton
1919-1925 | 5 years, 11 months, 22 days (36.71% win rate)
10. Harry Bradshaw
1899-1904 | 4 years, 10 months (50.21% win rate)
11. Mikel Arteta
2019 – | 4 years, 8 months, 21 (59.23% win rate)
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While Arteta has restored Arsenal to the Champions League with consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League, it’s clear he has an itch to scratch when it comes to winning more silverware. The Covid-19 FA Cup success aside – a win achieved with a group of players who’ve mostly left the club – needs to be emulated.
At the same time, he’s very conscious of the importance of how his team wins together. Asked about his main objective for the future, he said: “To win – it has to be that. It has to be that aim, but understanding that we have to enjoy the process. We have to be able to be the best version of ourselves every single day to achieve that.
“The outcome, we can’t control it. The process of every single day doing the right thing, thinking out of the box, our commitment, our determination, how we can win matches from every angle in the game, outside the game, our determination – our vision, that has to be every single day at the front. Then, the end result, we want it. The margins are so small and I think we’re going to be close.
“We are unique and we do our things in our own way. The joy of the people, whether they are the players, the staff, the board, the ownership or the supporters, that they really feel attached to the club and how we do things. For me, this is the biggest value that any club, any brand can have. Then we have to add trophies to that, for sure, and we will do our best to achieve that.”
Fantastic win rate, especially given where he started from. Keep that going and trophies will follow.
Could end up as our greatest manager ever! (though that will still be open to debate given the Invincibles…).
Interesting to see how much Mikel and Arsene are above the rest, some of who did some great things) in terms of win%.
It’s time to start winning things.
Yeah, I know that beating City to the title is a monumental task, but there are still 3 cups out there too. Arteta must stop taking the FA and League Cups lightly and really go for them.
This season, he and Edu have a a huge mistake by leaving the squad too light and we may well come to regret it.
I don’t think there is a single person in the football world who will not agree with extending Arteta’s contract but I still agree with part of what you said.
I know Edu and Arteta have to deal with FFP stuff but their goal is to do better than Man City and Liverpool. Guardiola already had a very effective goal-sharing system and still added Haaland who already scored 7 this season. If he had scored two or three, they probably would have had a draw this season already.
You! Start winning! Now!!
The beatings will remain until the winning commences…
He’s got a point though. If he doesn’t win trophies what are we going to judge him on?. xg the underlying metrics, European games. Winning trophies is the whole point of the exercise.
I would say Arteta is a life role model for me.
How do you feel about duels?
They upset me
That’s actually why I completely fell in love with Arsene Wenger and Arsenal in the first place, because he was such a role model, such an exemplary person who radiated the energy you want yourself and everyone else to have, and by extension the club and all the players he brought and raised radiated that same energy both on and off the pitch.
One of those players was a certain Mikel Arteta, who’s now carrying that energy and class forward and evolving it even further.
Reminds me a bit of ETH and his support team
I’m pleased. Never underestimate the attraction of working in an environment that you enjoy. We’ve all been there.
Do we have any idea of the wages he’s on?
I could care less to be honest
It’s exciting to be relevant again. If anyone can bring us titles, it’s Mikel Arteta.
I have no idea how he keeps that level of intensity for years at a time!