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Mikel Arteta believes he is taking on a football club that has lost its way and that one of his first jobs as Arsenal’s head coach will be to help them regain their identity.
The former Manchester City assistant was unveiled on Friday evening after signing a three-and-a-half-year contract and, in a hugely impressive opening mission statement, said he needed to understand the reasons why his new club – 10th in the Premier League – is in such a rut.
“That’s what I’m sensing from the outside,” he said when asked whether Arsenal had become lost. “I would like to start to make some steps and start to understand the reasons why. There will be reasons behind it, and a history behind it, and I have to try to understand quickly why this is, to implement certain things that will be quick wins, for the players, the staff and everybody. That is the challenge now.
“We don’t have much time to train, much time to talk about other things, because there are some important games coming up. We have to create the right vibe, the right energy, and everybody at the organisation has to feel so privileged to be here. There’s no other way.”
Arteta saw the low mood around the Emirates Stadium at first hand last Sunday when City, at that point coached by him alongside Pep Guardiola, comfortably won 3-0. Within hours of the final whistle Arsenal executives were spotted outside his house in Manchester, with talks about his appointment at an advanced stage by then, and he explained that the negative vibes had struck him.
“The first thing is a little bit to change the energy,” he said. “Last week I was here with Manchester City and I was a little bit down after the game when I felt what was going on. So we have to try to engage everybody, I have to try and convince the players about what I want to do, how I want to do it. They have to start accepting a different process, a different way of thinking, and I want to get all the staff and everybody at the club with the same mindset.”
Asked whether he knew exactly what had gone wrong at Arsenal, he suggested that any negative elements would not last long under his regime.
“I have my ideas that I would like to keep to myself because I have to corroborate them when I see [the players] act, when I see them behave, when I see them live together,” he said. “I want to do things my way but by convincing them that it’s the right way for everybody to live better.
“I don’t want them hiding, I want people to take responsibility for their jobs and I want people who deliver passion and energy in the football club. Anyone who doesn’t buy into this, or that has a negative effect or whatever, is not good enough for this environment or this culture.”
Despite that, his excitement at taking the role, which makes him the youngest manager in the Premier League at 37, was palpable. Arteta played for Arsenal from 2011 until his retirement in 2016 and described his return as a homecoming.
“I’ve been back home,” he said. “I’m extremely happy and proud to have been given the opportunity to be the manager of this football club. I’ve been preparing for a few years for this challenge to come. I know the expectations, I know the level and I know the stature of this club, and what it deserves. So I’m ready for that challenge, I can’t wait to start working with the players, and everybody here at the club.”
Arteta, who admitted that he came “a little bit close” to taking the job in May 2018 when Unai Emery pipped him, spoke warmly of Arsène Wenger’s influence on shaping his managerial career. It was Wenger who signed Arteta from Everton and fulfilled what the Spaniard said had been a lifelong dream to play for Arsenal.
“There was one man, his name is Arsène Wenger, that believed in me and gave me the opportunity to play for this club,” he said. “After that, he made me captain of this football club and I wouldn’t be sitting here if he didn’t have the vision to give me the opportunity to enjoy this incredible club.”
The appointment was confirmed just after 2pm and accompanied by a statement from the club’s head of football, Raul Sanllehi, who headed up the recruitment panel that alighted upon Arteta as first choice. Sanllehi also praised the interim head coach, Freddie Ljungberg, who has overseen five games and will take charge of Saturday’s fixture at Everton.
“We met several top-class candidates and Mikel stood out to every single one of us as the perfect person for us,” Sanllehi said. “Mikel understands Arsenal football club and what it means to our fans around the world. We look forward to him getting down to work and bringing the best out of our squad as we work to get our season back on track.
“I must also pay tribute to Freddie Ljungberg for his hard work and leadership. Together with Per Mertesacker, he has done a vital job for us in difficult circumstances. Freddie and Per are important parts of the Arsenal family and care deeply for this club.”
Ljungberg’s future, and the makeup of Arteta’s wider coaching staff, will be confirmed in due course.
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