No manager is safe in the Premier League, and one slip-up from their team can ignite a hailstorm of headlines suggesting the coach's job is at risk. Just ask Mikel Arteta, who felt the heat in the early stages of his ongoing Arsenal reign.
The pressure top-flight gaffers face is unlike any other, and we've seen some of the very best tacticians in the game crumble under the chaotic nature of management in the most-watched league in the world. While coaches' main priority is to deliver instant success, they also plan with the future in mind, hoping to build a dynasty at their respective clubs.
Sir Alex Ferguson is the blueprint, adapting with the times to ensure Manchester United remained the team to beat while under his watch. Perhaps that's why INEOS is giving Ruben Amorim time, but the bad news for him is that none of the eight permanent and temporary managers in the club's post-Ferguson era have lasted longer than three years.
One of the Scots' successors cracks the top 20 longest-serving managers in Premier League history. The ranking makes for compelling reading, with Arteta among those to feature.
10 Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta applauding the Arsenal supporters
Most Arsenal fans likely will have played down the chances of Arteta still being in charge five years and nine months after his arrival in December 2019. Let's not forget that the Spaniard had no prior experience managing a first team, though working alongside Pep Guardiola came in handy.
Arteta is going nowhere and may finally fulfill his ambition of guiding the Gunners to Premier League glory this season. His current deal expires in the summer of 2027, and were he to see out the rest of his contract, he would rise to sixth in the longest-serving managers in top-flight history.
9 Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley Charlton Athletic Manager
The older generation of Premier League fans reflect on their childhoods watching top-flight football by assessing cult heroes as 'Barclaysmen'. If they were to pick out some coaches from that era, then Alan Curbishley deserves a mention, not least because of his longevity.
Charlton Athletic were established as a solid mid-table club during his five years and 11 months at the helm. The Englishman's peak came at the Valley, including in the 2003-04 campaign, when he delivered a seventh-place finish.
8 Rafa Benitez
Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez
Liverpool are a club renowned for placing their faith in their managers and the Kop fell in love with Rafa Benitez during his five years and 11 months at Anfield. The Spanish tactician delivered their most famous night when his Reds staged a stunning comeback to beat AC Milan in the miracle of Istanbul.
Benitez's reign was filled with highs and lows, including touchline bust-ups with Sir Alex Ferguson. He fell in love with English football and has tried to rediscover the joys of his spell on the red side of Merseyside since leaving the club in 2010, with stints at Chelsea, Newcastle and even Everton, but has failed to replicate those exploits.
7 Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp in a suit
While the peak of Harry Redknapp's managerial career came at Tottenham Hotspur, his time in charge of West Ham United was his longest in the Premier League. The popular English coach was relatively new to the management scene when he took over at Upton Park in 1994.
Redknapp, who lasted six years and nine months, moved into the position after a brief period as assistant manager, and he put English football on notice regarding his eye for talent. He brought youngsters into the Hammers' side who went on to become household names, such as his nephew Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick and Rio Ferdinand.
6 Joe Kinnear
Joe Kinnear
It's been a long time since Wimbledon were a Premier League club but the Dons were a tricky mid-table team during the 1990s. After they were tipped for relegation, Joe Kinnear arrived in 1992 and was instrumental in propelling them into a top-flight mainstay during that period.
A sixth-place finish in the 1993-94 season remains the club's highest ever finish in the top-tier and he spent six years and 11 months in the dugout. He left the job in March 1999 due to health issues and the Crazy Gang were relegated a year later.
5 Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
There wasn't a dry eye in the house on the final game of the 2023-24 campaign when Jurgen Klopp bid farewell to Liverpool after eight years and eight months in charge. The German won the hearts of every Liverpudlian because he embraced the city and culture, serving as more than just their gaffer.
Every single major trophy was won during his lengthy reign, including the Premier League title in 2020, which ended a 30-year wait for league glory. His appointment in October 2015 remains one of the most important in top-flight history, and never say never about an Anfield return one day.
4 Pep Guardiola
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola with the Premier League trophy
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola with the Premier League trophy
Pep Guardiola has now been Manchester City's head coach twice as long as he was in charge of Barcelona, spending nine years and three months at the Etihad. He may be a Catalonian, but his heart is most definitely blue, given his pride for the Cityzens whom he's led to unrivalled success.
Four Premier League titles in a row, a treble to match rivals Manchester United and countless records broken. Just when fans thought he might be ready to call it quits in late 2024, he penned a new two-year contract, and he's undoubtedly made it his mission to oversee a successful start to a new era of City superstars.
3 David Moyes
David Moyes
There shouldn't really have been any doubts over David Moyes revitalising Everton at the start of their move to Bramley-Moore Dock. The Scot will forever be in the conversation for best Toffees manager and he has the chance to build on a staggering 11 years and three month spell with the Toffees from 2002 to 2013.
Who knows, Moyes may well have been in the Goodison Park dugout had he not been convinced to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United? He will be keen to relive the heights of overseeing Champions League qualification in 2005.
2 Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson cast his verdict on Freddy Adu
Sir Alex Ferguson cast his verdict on Freddy Adu
It's hard to argue against Sir Alex Ferguson being the greatest manager in Premier League history, given that he led Manchester United to the title 13 times. That came while at the helm for 20 years and 11 months, managing to adapt with the times and battle it out with the best domestically and in Europe.
Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford in November 1986 and embarked on a fairytale story that saw him join Sir Matt Busby at the winners' table before retiring in 2013. Every season that passed saw fans and pundits wonder if it was the last hurrah but his enormous passion for the game spurred him on for over two decades.
1 Arsene Wenger
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger at Wembley Stadium in 2009
Arsene Wenger is the longest-serving manager in Premier League history, spending 21 years and eight months as Arsenal boss. The Frenchman was tasked with transforming the Gunners, but he achieved so much more, revolutionising English football perhaps unlike any other coach.
While the latter years of Wenger's tenure were at times a struggle due to financial constraints resulting from the move to the Emirates, he remained determined to lead the North Londoners in such challenging circumstances. Of the 21 years in the hot seat, he will look back on 2004 most fondly after doing the unthinkable and achieving an invincible season.
Rank Manager Years Duration
1 Wenger 96-18 21Y 8M
2 Ferguson 92-13 20Y 11M
3 Moyes 02-13 11Y 3M
4 Guardiola 16- 9Y 3M
5 Klopp 15-24 8Y 8M
6 Kinnear 92-99 6Y 11M
7 Redknapp 94-01 6Y 9M
8 Benitez 04-10 5Y 11M
9 Curbishley 00-06 5Y 11M
10 Arteta 19- 5Y 9M
11 Dyche 16-22 5Y 9M
12 Allardyce 01-07 5Y 9M
13 Houllier 98-04 5Y 7M
14 Pochettino 14-19 5Y 4M
15 Smith 96-01 5Y 3M
16 Howe 15-20 4Y 11M
17 McClaren 01-06 4Y 11M
18 Robson 99-04 4Y 11M
19 Pulis 08-13 4Y 10M
20 Evans 94-98 4Y 9M