Mikel Arteta can follow in Sir Alex Ferguson's footsteps with Arsenal dynasty now the aim
Mikel Arteta can follow in Sir Alex Ferguson's footsteps with Arsenal dynasty now the aim
For once, Mikel Arteta dropped the poker face.
Ask him for an Arsenal injury update at his press conferences and he will tell you when his side are next training.
Questions on the opposition will be met with praise. Unless, that is, it's about a specific player, and then the sidestepping returns.
However, Arteta has been unusually open when discussing his contract situation. This has been a secret he has decided is not worth keeping.
Having entered the final year of his previous deal, Arteta recently told the Arsenal supporters that they "don't have to worry".
“Whenever the time is right, we’ll get that done,” he said. “There is nothing to be concerned about.”
Champions: Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard
Nor have the club tried to hide it. Outside the Amex Stadium last month, the club's official media team asked away supporters to talk about Arteta on camera in preparation for the announcement.
A three-week international break has provided the space for official confirmation. Arteta has signed that new contract, one that will take him into his tenth year in the Arsenal dugout.
The Spaniard has been handed a significant salary increase, reflecting his rise into the top-tier of managers after leading the club to the Premier League title last season.
That was the culmination of the "five-phase plan" that Arteta and then-technical director Edu Gaspar put together in 2019.
From shedding the squad of certain characters, to bringing in a different calibre of player, and ultimately claiming major silverware, the plan has been delivered on.
It has earned Arteta three contract extensions along the way, the latest of which comes with the clearest message yet: win, and win big.
As Richard Garlick, Arsenal’s chief executive, put it in comments accompanying the contract extension: "We want to create a winning era together with Mikel."
This is no longer about off-field intangibles. The culture in the squad has been set and well-established. The relationship between players and fans, and with it the atmosphere in the Emirates Stadium, has been rediscovered.
Arteta's influence permeates the club, from who gets weekend custody of the club's dog Win to a full revamp of the medical department and everything in between.
With the first words of his unveiling press conference after taking the job in 2019, Arteta declared: "I feel back home." Seven years on and this club is very much his house.
His contract situation was always about whether he would accept an extension, rather than if an offer would be on the table for him.
There is really now only one phase left, one yardstick with which the club will be measured. The success of Arteta's new contract will be judged on Premier Leagues and Champions Leagues.
He alluded to it himself earlier this month. Asked what he still wanted to achieve at Arsenal, Arteta said: "To build the best club in the world.
"That has to be without any question of a doubt what we have to do."
Mikel Arteta’s next aim is the Champions League
In his first managerial role, Arteta has done an extraordinary job. It has been so impressive that there is a temptation for other clubs to look at the time he was given by Arsenal early in his reign and assume patience is the answer to all their problems.
That is certainly not the case. Arteta's success, of course, would not have been possible had Arsenal not put their faith in him for an extended period.
However, they did so on the basis of the evidence in front of them, even if that took time to play out on the pitch. Arteta's force of character led to him being promoted to manager, rather than just head coach, within a year.
He stamped his authority on a dressing room of big characters and cultivated an environment at all levels of the club ready for success.
Cultural and sporting tests have been passed over the past seven years. The biggest one came last season. Under the ultimate, suffocating pressure, Arteta found a way to drag Arsenal over the line and end the 22-year wait.
In a sense, it is now a new era at the club. The previous baggage has been shed and expectations domestically and in Europe could not be higher.
That is the challenge for Arteta, evolving his side into ruthless winners on all fronts.
After reaching the semi-finals two seasons ago and the final last term, Arteta is desperate to lead Arsenal to their first Champions League title.
Mikel Arteta’s coaching staff is expected to be rewarded with new deals
The summer transfer window did not help him in achieving that goal to the extent he had hoped. It has been no secret that Arsenal wanted to add real individual quality to the attack by signing a transformational attacker to help them take the next, and final, step.
Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez were lined up but the allure of the Spanish superclubs was too much even for the Premier League champions to contend with.
That was a reminder to Arsenal of the work they still have to do to truly be in the "best club in the world" discussions, as Arteta hopes.
Instead, the evolution of Arsenal in forward areas will have to come from Arteta and his coaches. It cannot always be about the defensive base, as was emphasised in the defeat to Brighton.
The attack is the missing piece of the puzzle for Arsenal to become the complete team. Whether it be on the training pitch or in the transfer windows, that is the area of focus for Arteta over the course of this new contract.
After penning a deal that will take him to a decade in charge, and perhaps in time beyond, Arteta might ponder the words of Sir Alex Ferguson.
“When you are building a football club,” Ferguson once said, “you never know where you are going. It’s a journey that never finishes.”
That journey continues for Arteta, who has no intention of reaching his finish line soon. He believes the winning has only just begun.