Mikel Arteta has committed his future to Arsenal after signing a lucrative new contract extension and he will now be desperate to win the Premier League.
The club confirmed their head coach had signed a deal that will tie him down at the Emirates until the end of the 2026-27 season after opening formal talks.
As reported by Mail Sport, he has earned a sharp increase on his £9million-a-year package in a move that underlines the hierarchy’s total faith in his project.
Since being appointed in 2019, Arteta has been credited with transforming the club.
Here, ISAAN KHAN takes a look at exactly how he has got them back on track…
Mikel Arteta has committed his future to Arsenal after signing a lucrative contract extension
Arteta has been credited with transforming the club and putting them back on track
Rooting out bad eggs
Mikel Arteta firmly stamped his mark on the club in a number of areas almost as soon as he had come through the door at the Emirates Stadium back in 2019.
His immediate priority after arriving was to sift out the ‘bad eggs’, in line with the New Zealand All Blacks’ ‘No d***heads’ policy.
That saw Arteta work with sporting director Edu to jettison the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang by terminating their contracts – bold moves that have worked out well.
In line with this has been ensuring any incoming players have a character that mirrors the Arsenal ethos. Transfer targets are all extensively vetted to get a feel of the person behind the player.
Bad eggs including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw their contracts ruthlessly ripped up
No longer a soft touch
The manager has worked hard to dispel the perception among opposition teams that Arsenal are a soft touch.
The likes of Ben White and Gabriel form the nucleus of a harder shell. That could be seen in White booting the ball into Aston Villa’s John McGinn last month as retribution, as well as the defender being a nuisance at corner-kicks.
That attitude and fight comes from Arteta and others around the club.
As seen by his passionate cry in Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary series on Arsenal after their defeat by Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup in January 2022, Arteta is not afraid to stamp his authority.
‘I don’t accept these f****** standards,’ he bellowed. ‘It’s nowhere near. Nowhere near! When I lose a duel, I am upset. When I lose the small-sided games, I am upset. Because that is the f****** standard.’
Arsenal have a harder shell, as shown by Ben White’s grappling with John McGinn last month
Squad stands tall
The physical stature of players has changed too. Many of the signings brought in over the past year, such as Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, are over 6ft.
Arsenal also boast one of the tallest backlines in the league. Full backs Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are taller than most in their position and it adds to the intimidation factor when teams line up against the Gunners.
The physical stature of many of their players has changed with several signings over 6ft tall
Fans firmly on board
Arteta is a popular figure among fans who call him ‘Super Mik Arteta’. The Spaniard’s efforts to engage and make supporters feel part of the team’s journey have also gone a long way to forging a strong connection.
After all, it has not always been so rosy. It seems like an age ago that Arteta was facing calls to be sacked when the Gunners were hammered 5-0 by Manchester City in August 2021. The north London club started that campaign with three straight league defeats and conceded nine goals in the process.
‘I feel a really special connection between us (Arteta and fans) and I think the players feel the same thing,’ he said on Thursday.
Arteta is also shrewd when it comes to the crunch matches. Last season, ahead of Champions League ties against Porto and Bayern Munich, he whipped up the crowd. He could sense the need for a 12th man.
Prior to the Porto second leg, with his team 1-0 down, he warned: ‘This stadium is going to have the energy that you’ve never seen in your life. We haven’t done it for 14 years (get to the quarter-finals) so bring your noise, bring your energy, bring your passion to that stadium and something beautiful is going to happen.’
Arsenal won the tie on penalties.
Arteta is a popular figure and he has forged a relationship with the club’s supporters
Siege mentality
Supporters at the Emirates love the passion Arteta shows on the touchline.
He is not afraid to say his bit when he feels the club are being victimised, such as his ‘disgrace’ rant after Newcastle’s controversial winning goal in November, creating an ‘us against the world’ feeling.
So, Arsenal have secured their man for now. The next target on the list? Major silverware. If Arteta can achieve that, you can bet the Kroenkes will be offering another contract longer than three years.
