Mikel Arteta has opened up on several major decisions behind Arsenal’s transformation into Premier League champions during his appearance on The Overlap.
The Arsenal manager reflected on the club’s rebuilding process, the controversial signing of David Raya and the importance of bringing in players such as Declan Rice as part of the club’s push to return to the top.
Arteta admitted convincing people inside Arsenal to replace Aaron Ramsdale with Raya was one of the toughest calls he has made since becoming manager.
The Spaniard explained that while Ramsdale had the quality to succeed, he believed Arsenal needed a different profile of goalkeeper to take the next step.
“That’s a good example of what a manager needs,” Arteta said. “I was very convinced that we had to make a change, not because Aaron didn’t have the quality, because I believed we needed to go to the next level with a different profile of goalkeeper.”
Arteta revealed former sporting director Edu Gaspar repeatedly challenged him over the decision because of the pressure and scrutiny it would bring.
“And Edu really convinced the board as well,” Arteta added. “They needed to be convinced because it’s not just Mikel says this and okay let’s do this.”
The decision ultimately proved crucial during Arsenal’s title-winning season, with Raya matching David Seaman’s club record of 19 Premier League clean sheets in a single campaign.
Arteta also praised goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana for his role in identifying Raya as the right fit for the club.
The Arsenal boss insisted he always trusted Raya’s mentality and professionalism even before knowing whether the move would succeed on the pitch.
“What I was sure about was that David was going to dedicate himself completely to the cause and become an incredible ambassador for the club,” he explained.
Arteta also reflected on Arsenal’s wider rebuild after taking over the club in 2019.
The Spaniard described changing the culture inside the organisation as the most important and difficult task during the early stages of his reign.
“This wasn’t about changing tactics or just changing the way the team played,” Arteta said. “It was much deeper than that.”
He explained that Arsenal first had to rebuild standards, unity and belief across the club before they could seriously challenge for major honours again.
Arteta also pointed to the signing of Rice from West Ham United as a statement that Arsenal were ready to compete at another level.
“We are constantly sending messages,” he said. “That signing showed we wanted to go to another level financially, competitively and with the ambition of the players we recruited.”
Arsenal eventually backed that ambition up by winning the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years under Arteta this season.