Mikel Arteta Sets Himself Challenge on Six-Year Arsenal Anniversary

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta warned that he would have to “earn” a contract extension after six years in north London with a piece of major silverware.

Dec. 20 marks the anniversary of Arsenal’s appointment of Arteta back in the winter of 2019. Never before had the former club captain ever taken charge of a senior team, though he came highly regarded after three-and-a-half trophy-laden years as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City assistant.

Arteta swiftly led Arsenal to the 2020 FA Cup title in an empty Wembley Stadium and would win the first of two Community Shields a few months later. However, despite finishing second in each of the past three seasons, the passionate coach is still waiting for his first Premier League title.

The 43-year-old’s current deal with the Gunners extends until the summer of 2027. Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Everton—which, fittingly, was the first match after Arteta’s appointment, although he watched a grim 0–0 play out from the stands while Freddie Ljungberg concluded his interim spell—the current coach was asked if he could see himself in the Arsenal dugout beyond 2027.

“Yes,” he quickly replied, “but it’s about today. And a lot of things have to happen in the next few months as well to earn the right. I think a manager has to earn the right to be here tomorrow. And that’s how you react, how you talk here, how you go in the dressing room, the message that you send, how much the players follow you. I always say that you need support. I said it before, from ownership and the board is great.”

The exact terms of what it would take to “earn the right” were obvious: winning trophies.

“You look at the performances, all the records that we had that they were breaking in the history of the club...” Arteta mused. “We still haven’t managed to do that [win trophies]. But that tells you the level that we are in, which is a level that the Premier League has never experienced in the past. And that we want to achieve even higher goals. And if we do that, I think we are on the right path to winning.”

Arteta Aware of His Arsenal Records

Mikel Arteta boasts some very impressive numbers at Arsenal. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Despite an underwhelming trophy cabinet, Arteta has overseen a remarkable cultural overhaul which has resulted in sustained, successive title challenges. The Basque boss was keen to spread the praise around—“One man cannot really change anything,” he argued—yet there was a nod to his staggering managerial statistics.

“For six years, I’ve seen just players with a level of attention, desire to learn and give the maximum to the team,” Arteta beamed when speaking about the satisfaction he gets from managing Arsenal. “That is what it gives me in this job. Nothing else. And obviously winning a lot of football matches, that percentage-wise I think is quite high.” Quite high indeed.

Six years into his reign, Arteta boasts the best win ratio of any Arsenal manager to have overseen at least 50 games across the club’s entire history. Nevertheless, the names of Arsène Wenger, Herbert Chapman and George Graham will forever hold a loftier place in the history of this illustrious institution until Arteta can claim one of the game’s big gongs.

Manager	Games	Win Ratio
Mikel Arteta	314	59.7%
Arsène Wenger	1,235	57.2%
Unai Emery	78	55.1%
Harry Bradshaw	184	52.2%
Herbert Chapman	403	49.9%
George Graham	460	48.9%
Tom Whittaker	429	47.1%
George Allison	279	46.2%
Don Howe	117	46.2%
Terry Neill	416	45.0%