Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, 44, won the title in his sixth full season at the Emirates and will look ahead to a period of dominance at the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta has won the Premier League for the first time in six and a half years since taking charge at the Emirates (Image: 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Plc)
First the Premier League title, then a new contract, then a dynasty. Mikel Arteta’s achievements should be the beginning of an era, not laurels.
The Arsenal manager is in good company when it comes to winning the league title in his sixth full season as a manager in English football’s top flight. Sir Alex Ferguson won his first title and first Premier League in his sixth full season as Manchester United manager. Ferguson went on to win 12 Premier League titles.
No one would expect Arteta to win another dozen or so games in the future, but no one would disagree that this was the first of many. Arteta may only be 44 years old, but his enthusiasm and vitality for the job is impressive.
Josep Guardiola won his first La Liga title as a manager at the age of 38 and went on to win 11 league titles. It seems particularly appropriate that Guardiola, whose team’s failure to beat Bournemouth sealed Arsenal’s title win, is leaving English football just as Arteta is celebrating the most important moment of his managerial career.
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Arteta, who served as a managerial apprentice under Guardiola for three-and-a-half years at Manchester City, shares many qualities with his mentor, not least his attention to detail.
While some pundits may laugh at what they see as training ground tricks, such as a dog named Winn and speakers blaring Anfield anthems ahead of the trip to Liverpool, Arteta is always looking for an edge, no matter how unconventional or the subject of ridicule.
Pep would approve. With Pep gone, City won’t be as formidable, no matter how good Enzo Maresca proves. Pep is irreplaceable.
Josep Guardiola will leave the Premier League as soon as Mikel Arteta lifts the trophy
Arteta will become the Premier League’s longest-serving manager when Guardiola steps down after City’s final game of the season against Aston Villa at the Etihad. His current contract runs until the end of next season, but the new deal is a formality.
Recently, key players, especially Bukayo Saka, signed extension contracts. Look for Declan Rice, the keeper of this successful Arsenal team, to be the next player.
These players are not just buying a great club, they are buying Arteta. This is a club and a management team that knows its direction.
They have a certainty of direction that other clubs don’t have. And, like it or not, teams have a clear direction in how they play and how to be competitive.
Players such as Bukayo Saka have signed long-term contracts to confirm their faith in Mikel Arteta (Image: Getty)
Their organization, discipline and top-class defenders have meant they have conceded just 26 goals in the Premier League and just six in the Champions League this season. Simply put, it’s a strong foundation for success. And there is no reason why Arsenal are likely to win next season.
Arteta himself has been on a learning curve at the top end of the Premier League since signing at the Emirates. He is maturing as a manager. One of the most impressive things about this season – with the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain still to come, of course – has been how he has dealt with the almost relentless doubts about his and his team’s ability to get over the line and win the Premier League. But that’s what they did.
And it’s not job done. It’s a beginning.
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