After falling short in the final weeks of previous campaigns, the sense of relief was palpable for the Arsenal boss as he celebrated on the pitch with his family. Having used visualisation techniques to picture himself with the trophy, the reality of the situation has left the manager feeling vindicated in his methods.
"I'm the same one but I'm happier and relieved, I would say," Arteta confessed. "Obviously throughout this journey we have made some massive steps. We have accomplished a lot of things that, in my opinion, have a lot of value. But at the end of the day, we are here to win major trophies. That was the ultimate goal. We came very close, and in three locations we fell short at the end, and that was very painful. But I think that's what has driven all of us to find new ways to show what we are made of. That's why I said that the manner that we've done it, it makes it even better."