Official – Mikel Arteta confirmed as the new permanent Arsenal manager

Finally, Arsenal name Mikel Arteta as their new permanent manager.

After weeks of speculation and negotiations, Arsenal has named Mikel Arteta as their new permanent manager. Arteta who finished his playing career at the Emirates and was a crowd favourite returns to London having won the last two Premier League titles as assistant manager of Manchester City.

Talks have been ongoing for some time now and it intensified a few days ago with many fans waiting for the official announcement.

The Gunners have now announced that he will be in charge of taking the club to the next level.

Arteta wasn’t everyone’s choice to become their next permanent manager, but the club’s board think highly of him and they have trusted him with the team.

While he hasn’t managed at the senior level before now, he has been credited with having expert knowledge of the game.

Players like Raheem Sterling have improved under the former Spain midfielder with Pep Guardiola praising Arteta for helping turn Sterling into a world-class player.

Arsenal does have some quality players in the squad but the team lacks an identity to their play.

Arteta is expected to bring back confidence and self-belief to this Arsenal side first, and then help them build an attractive style of play.

90 Comments

    1. Unbeaten in the premier league as an arsenal manager, unbeaten in the Europa league as a manager, unbeaten in the fa cup as a manager, unbeaten in the champions league as a manager, i think the champions league record will be the last one to fall.

      1. The king is dead. Long live the king as they say
        More interesting times lay ahead of us
        He will give us More open debates on who why when and i am sure divided our options but we all agree here that we stand behind him, support him as he is our new leader for now.
        Upwards and onwards fellow supporters.

    1. It would depend on our transfer activities in January. I don’t think he has the time to assemble his own staffs

      1. Says who? Arteta will be assembling his own staffs.
        He wanted Xabi Alonso among but Xabi couldn’t accept. I don’t know about Tim Cahill rumours, I doubt it.
        Inãki Cãna Pavon is most likely to be the new goalkeeper coach.
        He has the highest goalkeeping coach education in Spain.
        He was with Arteta and a few others at Colney.
        Everything’s not confirmed yet tho

        1. Thanks for the info Eddie. I didn’t hear anything about the GK coach, but yes, I believe we need a new one.

          Leno, in this lad we finally got rid of nerves and blunders, but I feel Leno has got more room for improvement, difficult to give a proper judgement of him with all the shots coming his way, but my gut feeling is he allows the deadlock to be broken too soon and by efforts that he should be keeping out, not always but I’ve seen enough that tells me he has room for improvement.

          The work he has cut out for him this season ..it should keep him in good stead going forward, but we all know the old adage. Top keepers have to stay concentrated and be on their toes for those first couple or so big chances that comes his way, sometimes one big chance, it’s very different than being a top, busy, busy, little bee.

    2. Hehehehehe
      Did you just mention the rude word funds
      Like you I hope he was strong enough at the start of his negotiations to have this in play
      We are not in a position to have a manger to roll over and have his tummy tickled by the board

  1. Having read the emery interview on the bbc website I hope us arsenal fans give Arteta the time and space to find his feet. Can’t help thinking we the fans are not actually helping the team right now. Right behind this appointment let’s see what the season left can achieve

    1. I fully agree. We arsenal fans are usually too quick to jump in the bandwagon with pundits and others who by default would criticise arsenal, no matter what we archieve.
      While it would be extremely great to have, It would be unfair to expect instant results from Arteta.
      This is no time to start saying we should have signed this manager or that manager like the media and others out there would be saying right now. We have Arteta and that’s it. We either get behind him and the team or we join Arsenal haters to criticize him from the word go, and then watch his confidence fall and the team drown. It’s all in our hands now, yes we the fans, it’s in our hands. We either focus and build our dear Arsenal back up or we continue to tear it down with our own hands. The choice is ours.
      OUR MUMU DON DO ABEG
      COYG

  2. 3.5 years contract worth 5 M per year is a big long one, which could hurt Arsenal financially if they want to terminate Arteta’s contract next season

    Arsenal seem to want to stick with Arteta, regardless of Arsenal’s fate at the end of this season

    I hope the board and the executives manage to get rid of the dressing-room troublemakers in January, to pave the way for Arteta and his staffs

    1. @gotanidea
      There’s a very good article in the Independent about this. Worth the read. Liked the perspective they viewed the whole situation from, Mikels… Check it out. 👍🏿

    2. Are You wishing it gets to a situation where they would want to terminate His contract? stop the negative thinking.

      1. I’m with you on that, Lenohappy.. after all, he loves the club (nearly as much as we all do!)
        That’s got to be a good thing! 👍

      2. The only experience you gonna need is players like Hleb, Rosicky,Carzola and Fabregas and strikers like Henry and Van persie right we only have Martinelli and Pepe and new Dm and the entire new back 4 we should be able to challenge again rest of the overhyped kids we can bring them slowly and Aubameyang is just another big name who only score tap-ins he can’t anymore run and past an opponent in one one one situation and without forgetting Lacazette we should sell both of the in January I hope the news are true Madrid wants In exchange for Jovic

  3. YO!!! Welcome back Mikel… Your honeymoon period ends this weekend!!!
    Go get our football flowing again… Nice gamble by the board… I am excited about this appointment… COYG

  4. YO!!! Welcome back Mikel… Your honeymoon period ends this weekend!!!
    Go get our football flowing again… Nice gamble by the board… I am excited about this appointment… COYG

  5. If you still think he’s not worth your support. You should also know, He was promised the City job to replace Pep.
    He just left all of that now for our club in crisis with lesser players. I’ll say that’s a pretty big ballsy move.
    Making the decision to turn down the chance to manage Arsenal must be commended and should earn him enough respect from us fans.
    Also he has plans to bring City’s Rodolfo Borell as his own assistant coach at Arsenal.
    His contract includes him selecting his own assistant coach.

    The issue is Borell might come over and might not because City needs to promote someone now.
    It’s interesting to see how it goes.
    Also if you’re among those who think Arteta is a yes man figure. He’s not, don’t let his calm look fool you.
    Players will have to respect him or leave.

    Goodluck my coach.
    At least I can stop posting about Arteta news now

    1. Nice one, Eddie… now you can get on with the transfer news 😉

      Love that last part you said about his calm look. We need someone like that.
      Here’s to happy (& successful) days ahead, Eddie 👍

      1. Cheers Sue.. Everyone should be behind him now that he’s gotten the job.
        Tomorrow will be the first time in EPL’s history we’ll witness a game with The opposing Head Coaches watching while the Interim managers do the job.

      2. Cheers Sue.. Everyone should be behind him now that he’s gotten the job.
        Tomorrow will be the first time in EPL’s history we’ll witness a game with The opposing Head Coaches watching while the Interim managers do the job.

        1. We indeed are all behind Arteta, just as for Freddie.

          We will have first indication on his first formation, next week; Bellerin and Holding fu!ky fit by then should make it easier.

          Nothing really to be said before that but a positive news to have a coach… Take one more beating predicted tomorrow and wait…

        2. Sorry Eddie, my bad, there’s few topics or question, debate to be discussed, such as :

          Can we still make it to top 4?

          Knowing that we could be 10 points behind 4th place tomorrow and announce of no money for next transfer window…Beyond any coach, can we still make it?..

          What is Arteta realistic target for this season?

          Should we sell Auba and Torreira this winter? In order to generate transfer funds to reinforce defense…

          Allows to bring Koulibaly and secure 2 young talented agressive LB & RB, where we have no back up…

  6. Welcome Arteta, I like him as a player and am very excited about the future. I wish him and the players good success

  7. Welcome aboard Mikel Arteta, let’s hope everyone gets behind you.

    If you can only bring back the style and attacking football you were part of as a player, at The Arsenal, you will have succeeded

    1. Exactly Ken1945, let’s hope he can bring back Arsenal attacking style and combine it with City pressing football.

      1. Blimey Lenohappy, Arteta has already found you and me agreeing on something!!!

        If this isn’t a positive note for the future, then nothing is – in actual fact we did witness many years ago with The Invincibles, so we know it can be done.

        COYG’s

  8. Welcome back MA!!!!!
    So tomorrow he is going to be in charge…
    Wanna see some confidence get back into the team.
    COYG

      1. 22 years is ridonculous. The more ridonculous the better. Anyway I’m really looking forward to Arteta albeit a year and a half late.

    1. I don’t think i can proof it and I don’t need to proof it to anyone.

      The truth still remains that I said it here years back.

      Admins maybe able to verify it using my previous name then @Chidi and my email which hasn’t changed 👌

      That’s by the way tho
      Lets Unite and support this team…Arteta has a long way to go to bring us back to our Glory days.

      1. I believe you about that prediction, because I remember a few fans saying they could see Arteta becoming a manager, some people felt that he’d become a better manager than he was a player, and some said they could see him steering this club one day. It came after fans saying how Arteta’s not a leader, they didn’t think he should be captain, whereas others felt that behind the scenes, and in interviews, is when Arteta shows how intelligent he can be.

    1. I hope you’re wrong ThirdMan JW. He has one thing in his favour though, he knows the EPL inside out and there will be no surprises. We have to hope he will succeed.

  9. We ALL need to back him now and hope he succeeds because if he succeeds then Arsenal succeeds

    And we need to give him some time too. We can’t expect success overnight

  10. He’s actually gone be facing the media in an hour for his first press conference as an Arsenal coach. 5 pm.
    Let’s not ignore the fact that we know we have spoilt players we need to ship out first. As long as Arteta ships out the underwhelming players, he’ll get support from the board in the market.
    I used to say this when Freddie was in charge, This season is a write off already so no pressure and expectations from me, it’s the same now, It’s a write off and I’m not expecting Arteta to even get us top 5 with the way other teams are performing.
    I’m just glad he’ll have the rest of the season to pinpoint and study the weaknesses in the team before next season

    1. Eddie, we recently discussed wether Arteta would be strong enough to handle the senior players and you put forward a convincing argument that he was:

      Fast forward to this great news today and Iwill ask you another question – what makes you think he will need to ship ANYONE out?

      Unless of course, they don’t respond to him that is. We have all been saying that the group of players are a talented bunch, they just needed a proper leader to show them the way.

      I have a feeling that there will not be any players leaving until the summer, giving Arteta plenty of time to assess what he has inherited, but do believe we will see some new faces coming in.

      1. Hello Ken.

        I think your right. I sense that a problem Unai had was the ability to relate and adapt to a different language and just as important a different culture. We had the initial best intentions but as last season continued so these two problems were realised.

        In contrast Arteta doesn’t have these problems. He has admitted what some fans think that the team had lost its cobatitive approach to the game and as a player Arteta was very combatitive so there is hope for old Arsenal yet.

        Of course he could fail but it is time once again to look on the bright side.

        Let’s hope the ‘boo at everything fans’ don’t get to him when he looses a game or two.

        Looking on the bright side. It is winter that means spring is just around the corner and when you are a true Arsenal supporter hope springs eternal because our Arsenal heart is stronger than any other heart – it doesn’t die.
        I send you Christmas greetings and a happy Arsenal 2020.

  11. Welcome back Mikel, if you can get this lot playing like a team again it will be an achievement in itself. We can then start playing the Arsenal way again. All the best for the future!!!

  12. Well Arteta is our manager for the next 3 seasons or so. When he was here we had a stylish midfield at least. I know City were looking at Mikel Oyarzabal, so let’s hope Arteta goes for this Santi Cazorla type player. We all know that ‘Stroller’ Luiz and ‘The Wrestler’ Sokratis must be replaced IMMEDIATELY. WE need a ‘Ramsey’…our midfield is as embarrassing as our defence. I’m sure Arteta will bring in three or four players in January. If not we could still face a relegation battle. Arteta would not be my first choice, but I give him my full support and wish him good luck.

  13. I hope Arteta I able to affect team formation and tactic, maybe give him a phone as if he was banned for that game… This is really scary stuff!

  14. Welcome home Arteta, we’ve missed you, we’ve also missed the Arsenal, bring it all back, sing it back, sing it back to us Arteta.

    Excited!!!, little nervous!, …but excited!!! nonetheless.

  15. “Slowly you will see some changes and where we want to head on. The direction’s going to be very clear and it’s not going to be negotiable. I will need the players to be on board with the right attitude, with the right passion and commitment. Step by step, we will be improving and reaching to find the right identity for us.” Arteta….That’s mone like it…He has bought me over fully…
    Meanwhile heard Freddie is working with him….
    The Arsenal we back we back yoo

  16. Ex Captain, win ratio of 61% from 153 games. 2 x FA Cup, he knows the Fan’s expectations, he’s studied under Wenger whilst here, and has worked with and managed egos at City.

    Forget about if he has managed at the top level, he has everything to give him the chance to.

    Lets hope the fans give him the chance to too.

    It’s now down to fans to support. We know the squad is not where we want it to be, we know the manager will need to evolve it, so let’s get behind him to do so.

    Exciting and nervous times ahead but maybe just maybe having him now then 18months ago is all because it was meant to be this way…

  17. I am optimistic about our future again. It is going to take time but I thought his first press conference was impressive.

  18. Welcome back Mikel. Hopefully you’ ve learned some football from your time at City, cause when you were at us, you’ ve been mainly giving sideway passes. It’s pretty strange, how noone speaks about reinforcements in January.
    The way I see it, this campaign is already over, we are never going to end 4th anyways, there is a slight chance we win the Europa League though, which should be our main objektive + plus avoid relegation.
    Let’s see how our pampered players react against Everton, although the momentum is with the home team, having acquired the best for their level possible manager available in Ancelotti.

  19. Mikel Arteta is here at last. His coming doesn’t change a thing about how I feel about Freddie Ljunberg. That Arsenal did not bounce back the way we want under his short watch does not take anything away from his past achievements.

    Freddie Ljunberg. Arsenal Legend. Fact. Always loved.

    1. The Management and Board have made their decision, which hopefully is the correct one. One thing for certain is that regardless of the future outcome, they will not be held accountable. Whatever our personal views on Mikel Arteta’s appointment, we should all get behind him as Head Coach (not “Manager”) and support him fully in his attempts to turn this Club around.
      Many of the current Arsenal squad need a lot of “hard love”, to either shape up or be transferred out.
      Some on here have called for a revival of free flowing attacking football. As a long term Arsenal supporter, I first want to see a return to hard physical combative football to make Arsenal difficult to score against and the Emirates to become a fortress. Hopefully Arteta will prioritise footballers, who are as good without the ball to win it back quickly, as they are on the ball. Once the defense and spine of the team is upgraded, the free flowing attacking football will have a solid foundation to build upon.
      Rebuilding this solid combative and defensive foundation, is Arteta’s hardest task given the players currently at his disposal. Hopefully Edu and the owners will support Arteta, more than they did Emery in providing the players he wants and needs.
      Good luck, Mikel Arteta! COYG!

  20. Hiring a coach without any experience for such a big club is a massive risk. Gary Neville failed miserably at Valencia and was given the boot after only 4 months. Such a long 3 and a half contract was another mistake from the club. What’s done is done though, I will get behind the coach. He will need all our support to turn this around.

  21. Welcome back Mikel Arteta! Arsenal needs you badly and you love Arsenal like all of us. Your confidence, self belief and passion will surely bring back our glory days. We are the Arsenal and the world should take note of that! I am sure Arteta will make the players more committed and disciplined and mind you he is a no nonsense person. Players who are really committed and passionate about the Arsenal cause will play.

  22. I believe all Gooners the world over wish Arteta all the best in his new and rather challenging task. I was generally impressed by Arteta’s first press conference most notably his response to whether he can succeed to turn Arsenal’s fortune around. He was unequivocal in his answer which gives all of us hope. Everybody has pointed at the players who need to improve their mentality which is the main stumbling block to our performance.
    I also wish to add the fans because they have at times been unnecessarily harsh on some players. This trend goes back to the time of Bendtner, Eboue and Adebayo who were booed unnecessarily. The fans need to support the team and stop turning some players into figures of hate. Let us give Arteta all the support he needs to succeed.

  23. I support the choice of Arteta but I would like to say that Emery’ s comments about the appointment of Arteta demonstrate just what a decent, dignified person he is. Frankly the attitude of a number of Arsenal players was, and continues to be, disgraceful. Emery deserved better. I have always supported the concept that worth, including footballers pay, can only be defined by what someone is prepared to pay for something. However, I then believe that the recipients should then demonstrate that worth. Many of the present Arsenal team do not. I hope Arteta is as ruthless as some people suggest. I would have my total support in that context.

  24. Arteta is a very good signing but as Wenger said he will need good ppl around him as well. So board should now try n get bergkamp as head of our Academy. Let’s restructure n revamp the whole club. There is a lot which needs to change but Academy is the most important thing, we need a good Academy which can keep feeding the club with good talented players so we don’t have to rely on outside purchasing too much. Honestly the ones we have apart from Saka (needs to work on his attitude) n smith row rest are band avg.

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