Credit: Arsenal.com
What is Arteta’s legacy if Arsenal win the Premier League?
With just two games left, North London big boys Arsenal are the closest they have been to winning the English Premier League since the 2003/2004 season when they won it.
The Gunners have been disappointing in continental football, but they have compensated for that with their impressive league form. Arsenal currently sit second in the league, two points behind Manchester City, with a better goal difference than the reigning champions.
However, it is out of their hands, as Manchester City just need to win their remaining game against West Ham to win their fourth straight title. Nonetheless, whatever the outcome, it would still be a very good campaign for Arsenal.
After Unai Emery left the team, Arteta took over as Arsenal coach at the end of 2020. Before then, the Spanish tactician had never been in charge of the senior team of any club. Still, the club entrusted him with the job. Arteta had been with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City before the Arsenal job serving as the Catalan’s right-hand man.
Despite taking over the Arsenal job midway into the season, Arteta helped the team to the FA Cup title. But that was just the start of good things at the club. There was a lot of controversy after Arteta let go of important players like Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira, and Bernd Leno. But Arsenal fans have since forgotten about that.
In his first full season, Arteta finished eighth with Arsenal, and there were talks that he could get the sack. Still, the board kept their trust in him. In his second season, the former Everton man coached the Gunners to fifth in the league, two points behind the top four.
Meanwhile, the team had started showing signs of improvement, with the board supporting him in the transfer market. Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko joined from City as marquee signings, while Fabio Vieira also arrived from Porto.
Then, last season, Arsenal had their first real push for the English title. They finished five points behind Manchester City. But their 84-point haul was the highest they had recorded since the 2003/2004 season, which signalled growth. Many felt the lack of experience and the injury to William Saliba played a key role in the side’s failure to get over the line despite leading for multiple weeks.
After their impressive campaign, last summer, the Gunners broke their transfer record, paying €116.6 million for Declan Rice from West Ham. The Englishman has proven to be an important player for Arsenal, as he has played all the Premier League games this season.
Also, albeit controversial, Kai Havertz joined from Chelsea for €75 million. The German has also proven his worth, contributing twelve goals and six assists in 35 Premier League games.
This season, the Gunners have also surpassed their points record in the Premier League and it is no surprise Arsenal tickets have been one of the most in-demand this term. Before this campaign, the highest they had scored was 87- in the 2004/2005 campaign. But this season, they have already scored 86, and the potential for 3 more as they face Everton in their final game.
Visible Impact at the Emirates
With Arteta in charge at the Emirates, Arsenal now functions like a well-oiled machine. The players have bought into his football ideology, and they have gotten used to playing in Arteta’s style.
The Spaniard has even tended to an area that has often been neglected by top teams: set plays. Arteta has an assistant who coaches the team on set plays, and that has yielded fruits, as Arsenal have scored more than 20 goals from set pieces – the highest in the league.
Also, most of the players have improved under Arteta. Bukayo Saka has grown to become one of the best right-wingers in the world. With eleven goals, this is Leandro Trossard’s best campaign in terms of goal returns.
Declan Rice is also in the best form of his life. He has also been well involved with the attack, contributing 15 goal involvements, the highest in his career. Martin Odegaard is also playing the best football of his career, with his name getting into conversations where the likes of Kevin De Bryune and Bruno Fernandes are being mentioned. Havertz as earlier mentioned, is showing the form he had at Bayer Leverkusen four seasons ago, while William Saliba, who has played in all of Arsenal’s Premier League games this season has morphed into one of the top central-backs in Europe.
Although players like Emile Smith Rowe, Jesus, Vieira, Eddie Nketiah, and Reiss Nelson have stagnated, there is still a good chance that they will improve in the long run.
With what Manchester City have shown in previous years, it is almost unforeseeable that they will drop points on the final day. However, it is football, and that cannot be ruled out. But Arsenal would need to win their last game to capitalize. It is now that disappointing results like the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa in April, the 2-1 loss at Fulham, and the 2-0 loss to West Ham at the Emirates in December really sting.
Nonetheless, if the Gunners eventually usurp the Cityzens it would be their biggest achievement in the last twenty years, which was the last time they won the league. The last manager to win the title at Arsenal was Arsene Wenger, who is regarded as a club legend. But if Arteta can break that brick wall, he would cement his status as a club hero and buy him a few more years at the reins of the club.
Arteta would also seal his status as a top European manager because his spending would eventually be justified. Also, it would boost the players’ confidence, as they would get the reward for following his game plan for the last two seasons.
Potentially, it would encourage the Arsenal board to pump more money into transfers, as they would be looking to continue with their dominance in England and take it to the continental stage.
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