Hitting new levels
Time for a title tussle
Arteta had his new contract, he had the fans on side, and academy players such as Saka and Smith Rowe were fully integrated. All he needed was a team ready to challenge.
Arsenal may have been ousted by Tottenham in the battle for fourth in 2022 but strides were made in the subsequent season that put them beyond not only Spurs – but most of the Premier League.
The main two arrivals that summer were Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, both pinched from Manchester City, with winning experience in tow. Arteta would go on to say that the pair “changed our world”.
“That showed what City thought of us in that period,” recalls Palmer.
“But from the moment Jesus and Zinchenko came along, they brought a different belief and they brought the final parts of our playing style.
“It really did change things. Our belief went up and suddenly the art of the possible changed.”
There was another big addition in the integration of Saliba, the pacey centre-back who moved Arsenal 10 to 15 yards further up the pitch.
All of a sudden, Arsenal could get complicated.
Zinchenko’s arrival meant the Gunners adopted a regular inverted left-back for the first time. Jesus connected to create a front three with Saka and Martinelli, all of whom hit double figures for goals that term, while even Xhaka was among the top scorers.
Arsenal began the 2022/23 season winning 10 out of the first 12 Premier League games. Suddenly, the picture changed. They were in a title race that would last for most of the season. Arteta had transitioned from a manager who got by with what he had, to one ready to delve into the specifics.
“It’s hard to describe what makes him a special coach as he has so many qualities, but I think it’s the attention to detail that I haven’t seen anywhere else in football,” says Odegaard, who was also made Arsenal captain that summer.
“There are so many things he will tell you that you have never really even thought about that just make sense when he explains them to you.
“I think his understanding for the game, all the details he sees, and his ability to get the team and club working together and in the same direction are his best qualities. He is unbelievable.”
Arsenal lost the title that season as injuries to Jesus and Saliba, coupled with another undefeated Manchester City run-in, saw Guardiola pick up the crown again. But Arteta responded by adding more layers to the team, his ruthlessness coming to the fore again.
Declan Rice arrived despite Thomas Partey being a crucial midfield lynchpin. Jurrien Timber, who albeit succumbed to an early season long-term injury, threatened Ben White and Zinchenko’s spots at full-back. Fan favourites such as Tierney and Smith Rowe were relegated to back-up options.
The most ruthless move came in the goalkeeper spot. Aaron Ramsdale was named in the Premier League Team of the Year but David Raya arrived and the England international barely played again. Arteta again focused on the specifics he wanted between the sticks.
“When you come to Arsenal and he tells you how he sees football, you feel like you never knew football before,” Raya tells Sky Sports.
“That’s how crazy it is for every player who has come to Arsenal. I spoke to Declan Rice when I came and he said the same thing. ‘When I came here, I didn’t really know football, I didn’t know how to play football.’
“That’s how impressive Mikel is in the way he sees the game differently, and I think you can see on the pitch how good he is too. He’s incredible. He’s a great manager and a great guy and he pushes you to the limit to be better.”
His desire to push Arsenal to their limits and maximise every possible part of the game is best summarised by their set-piece prowess.
In Arteta’s first full season in charge, they scored the third-fewest goals from dead-ball scenarios in the Premier League. Now, with the help of set-piece guru Nicolas Jover, they have 23 Premier League goals from corners in 18 months.
“The thing I most value about Arteta’s management is his desire to push every single margin and respect every single facet of the game,” says Stillman.
A mural of Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover near the Emirates Stadium
A mural of Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover near the Emirates Stadium
“We didn’t have that for too long at Arsenal and people made fun of us for being weak, for being bad at set-pieces.
“It has now come to the stage where people make fun of Arsenal for how good they are at set-pieces, but for too long we didn’t respect those parts of the game.
“I think Arteta knows the level of competition such that you have to be outstanding at everything to have a chance of winning anything and that’s what I really value from his management.”
Arsenal got closer to the Premier League title last season but not close enough. City pipped them on the final day by two points. Still, though, Arteta continues to mould his squad and strive for improvement.
Kai Havertz shows his dejection after missing out on the title on the final day of last season
Kai Havertz shows his dejection after missing out on the title on the final day of last season
Kai Havertz was one of the top duel-winners in 2024, so he signed another in Mikel Merino, who won more duels than any player in Europe in the most recent campaign.
“To be at his level, you have to have many strengths,” says Merino to Sky Sports. Two of the biggest for me are the desire to win, that killer mentality that he has that we as players have to develop and want to develop to win games.
“And also the attention to detail. There isn’t a single detail in the training session where he doesn’t take a look. That makes him such a good coach.”
Is Arteta’s Arsenal squad now close to completion? “He has got the right team now, and he has built players into world-class players,” Reiss Nelson, who started Arteta’s first game in charge in 2019 and is now on loan at Fulham, tells Sky Sports.
“He has done an amazing job. Congratulations to what he has achieved there.”
