Mikel Arteta was Josep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City before guiding his former tutor to the Premier League title.
Published May 19, 2026
Mikel Arteta has silenced the doubters by awakening the sleeping giant Arsenal and returning the Gunners to the top of English football.
Twenty-two years after Arsene Wenger’s ‘invincibility’, Arsenal have finally crossed the line and legitimized Arteta’s project, which began when he took over in 2019.
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Six-and-a-half years ago, Arsenal took a gamble on the former club captain, who had no managerial experience.
But Arteta has arguably been blessed with the best apprenticeship, working alongside long-time mentor and title rival Josep Guardiola.
When Guardiola arrived at Manchester City 10 years ago, he looked for Arteta’s experience in England and for someone he knew from their time together at Barcelona.
“He was a source of inspiration for me, both as a player and as a coach. He is the one who took a chance on me and decided to take me as his second manager,” Arteta said of Guardiola last year.
“I’ll always be grateful to him, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
However, in stark contrast to many other modern managers, Arteta has not followed Guardiola’s approach in building his team and leading his former manager to the title.
Although Arteta never achieved great results at Barcelona, the impact on his career as a player shaped his outlook as a manager.
After brief spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Rangers, Arteta has finally found a home at David Moyes’s Everton.
“I learned from him about building a team and getting the right people in the team to build what you want, both on and off the field,” Arteta said of Moyes.
Built on solid defensive foundations and pushing towards the title through strength at set-pieces, Arsenal’s team resembles Moyes’ strategy more than Guardiola’s philosophy.
In his first meeting with Arsenal executives, Arteta reportedly laid out a five-step plan to get the club back into contention for the Premier League and the top of Europe.
He quickly made his presence known as Arteta sought to bring harmony to his squad, with seven players being let go at random, including stars such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil.
He bought time by winning the FA Cup just months after taking over, but it would be another six years before more silverware appeared.
In his first season, Arsenal finished eighth in the league, their lowest in 25 years, and were unable to improve on that in the coronavirus-affected 2020/2021 season.
A year later, they missed out on a chance to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in a while with a late collapse, finishing fifth.
There were doubts about Arteta’s ability to get Arsenal over the line, even though he had made great strides to finish second in the league three times in a row.
Building from the back, he was often criticized for being too conservative, but he has walked a fine line with his frenetic antics on the touchline.
Even this season, many believed Arsenal had lost their way when they suffered four consecutive domestic defeats in March and April, losing interest in the FA Cup and League Cup and allowing Manchester City to return to the Premier League title race.
But Arteta has now succeeded in righting the ship, seeing off Guardiola’s men to the brink of Arsenal’s best-ever season.
If they defeat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30th, they will become European champions for the first time.
“When it’s harder at the beginning, sometimes it’s better to see the change and the joy in people,” Arteta said ahead of Arsenal’s final home game of the season against Burnley.
“It’s a beautiful thing to look at.”
Arsenal’s almost man has finally had his moment.
