It has been five years since he took the helm of Arsenal. Mikel Arteta expressed his feelings when he took the helm five years ago.
Arsenal will face Crystal Palace in the 17th round of the 2024-25 Premier League at Selhurst Park in London at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday (Korea time). Currently, Arsenal ranks third in the league with eight wins, six draws and two losses (30 points), while Palace ranks seventh with three wins, seven draws and six losses (16 points).
Five years have passed since Arteta took over as Arsenal manager. He started coaching at Manchester City in 2016 and was assisting Pep Guardiola. Later, Arteta replaced Unai Emery during the 2019-20 season and returned to Arsenal, a “friendly team” in crisis, to start his first career.
However, Arteta’s first start was not good. He ended the season in eighth place in the league in the 2020-21 season following the 2019-20 season, earning the disgrace of failing to advance to the European match in 25 years. Many fans demanded the replacement of Arteta, but the club’s leadership trusted him until the end and finally decided to keep him in office.
Arteta then rebounded. During the 2021-22 season, Arteta added his own color to Arsenal and successfully turned the game around by actively using young players to rank fifth in the league. Although Arsenal failed to win the league title by finishing second for two consecutive seasons, they have solidified their status as a “big club” by being reborn as an “against horse” that would prevent Manchester City from winning the league title.
Arsenal are a strong candidate for the title this season as well. Despite the painful defeats to Bournemouth (0-2) and Newcastle (0-1), Arsenal are now on an unbeaten streak of six matches (three wins and three draws). They are currently trailing Liverpool by six points and Chelsea by four points. 스포츠토토
At a press conference ahead of the match against Palace, Arteta expressed his feelings when he took over as Arsenal manager five years ago. According to the British public broadcaster BBC, Arteta said, “I have never coached players at the highest level, and I have been asked to take this amazing and huge position with no preparation in the middle of the season and no coaching staff.”
Arteta added, “I just wanted to see who I wouldn’t disappoint and if I could do this well. I think I was probably in fear at the time.”