Rooting out bad eggs, shedding soft touch perception and creating an us against the world mentality: How Mikel Arteta has got Arsenal back on track
Mikel Arteta has committed his future to Arsenal with a lucrative new contract extension and will now be desperate to win the Premier League.
The club confirmed that their head coach has signed a contract that will tie him to the Emirates Stadium until the end of the 2026-27 season after formal talks began.
As reported by Post Sporthe has been given a hefty pay rise on his £9m-a-year package, a move that underscores the hierarchy’s complete confidence in his project.
Since his appointment in 2019, Arteta has been praised for transforming the club.
ISAAN KHAN shows here how he got them back on track…
Mikel Arteta has committed his future to Arsenal after signing a lucrative contract extension
Arteta has been praised for transforming the club and getting it back on track
Weeding out bad eggs
Mikel Arteta left his mark on the club in a number of areas almost immediately after arriving at the Emirates Stadium in 2019.
His first priority upon arrival was to weed out the ‘bad eggs’, in line with the New Zealand All Blacks’ ‘no idiots’ policy.
Arteta worked with sporting director Edu to offload players such as Mesut Özil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang by terminating their contracts, bold moves that paid off.
In line with this, care has been taken to ensure that all incoming players have a character that reflects the Arsenal ethos. Transfer targets are all extensively screened to get a sense of the person behind the player.
Bad apples, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, saw their contracts ruthlessly torn up
No longer a soft touch
The manager has worked hard to dispel the perception among opponents that Arsenal are soft.
Ben White and Gabriel form the core of a tougher shell, as was evident when White fired the ball at Aston Villa’s John McGinn in retaliation last month, and when the defender was a nuisance on corner kicks.
That attitude and fighting spirit comes from Arteta and others within the club.
Arteta is not afraid to assert his authority, as evidenced by his impassioned cry in Amazon’s documentary series All or Nothing about Arsenal following Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest in January 2022.
“I don’t accept these f****** standards,” he screamed. “It’s nowhere near it. Nowhere near it! If I lose a duel, I’m angry. If I lose the small matches, I’m angry. Because that’s the f****** standard.”
Arsenal have a tougher skin, as evidenced by Ben White’s tussle with John McGinn last month
Squad stands strong
The physical stature of players has also changed, with many of the players brought in over the past year, such as Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, being over 6ft.
Arsenal also have one of the longest backlines in the league. Fullbacks Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are taller than most in their positions and that adds to the intimidation factor when teams play the Gunners.
The physical stature of many of their players has changed, with several signings standing over 6ft 1in
Fans firmly on board
Arteta is a popular figure among fans who call him ‘Super Mik Arteta’. The Spaniard’s efforts to engage supporters and make them feel part of the team’s journey have also gone a long way in forging a strong bond.
After all, it hasn’t always been so rosy. It seems like an eternity since Arteta was sacked when the Gunners were beaten 5-0 by Manchester City in August 2021. The North London club started the season with three straight league defeats, conceding nine goals in the process.
“I feel a very special bond between us (Arteta and the fans) and I think the players feel that too,” he said on Thursday.
Arteta is also smart when it comes to the crucial games. Last season, before the Champions League games against Porto and Bayern Munich, he knew how to whip up the crowd. He felt the need for a 12th man.
Before the second leg against Porto, with his team 1-0 down, he warned: ‘This stadium is going to have an energy that you’ve never seen in your life. We haven’t done it (reaching the quarter-finals) for 14 years, so bring your sound, bring your energy, bring your passion to that stadium and something beautiful is going to happen.’
Arsenal won the match on penalties.
Arteta is a popular figure and he has built a bond with the club’s supporters
Siege mentality
Emirates supporters love the passion Arteta shows on the touchline.
He is not afraid to speak out if he feels the club is the victim of discrimination, as evidenced by his tirade of shame after Newcastle’s controversial winning goal in November, which created an ‘us against the world’ feeling.
So, Arsenal have secured their man for now. The next target on the list? Big silverware. If Arteta can achieve that, you can count on the Kroenkes offering a new contract of more than three years.