Arteta silences critics by beating inspiration Guardiola to Premier League title
Twenty two years on from Arsene Wengers Invincibles Arsenal have at last crossed the line to vindicate the Arteta project that started with his appointment back in 2019.
Arsenal took a chance on their former club captain six and a half years ago even though he lacked any prior managerial experience.
Yet Arteta enjoyed arguably the finest apprenticeship working alongside his longtime mentor who became title rival Pep Guardiola.
When Guardiola reached Manchester City ten years ago he sought Artetas knowledge of the English game and someone familiar from their playing days together at Barcelona.
As a player and as a coach he has been an inspiration for me and he is the person who decided to bet on me to include me as a second coach Arteta said of Guardiola last year.
I will always be grateful to him otherwise I would not be here.
Yet in clear contrast to many other modern coaches Arteta has not followed the Guardiola approach in building a side that has edged out his former boss for the title.
Arteta never quite made the grade at Barcelona but the influences on his playing career have shaped his outlook as a manager.
After short spells at Paris Saint Germain and Rangers Arteta finally found a home at Everton under David Moyes.
I learned from him on the field and off the field about building a team and getting the right characters in the team to build what you want Arteta said of Moyes.
An Arsenal side built on solid defensive foundations and propelled towards the title from their strength at set pieces bears more similarity to the Moyes playbook than Guardiolas philosophy.
Beautiful to watch
In his first meeting with the Arsenal hierarchy Arteta reportedly presented a five phase plan to bring the club back into contention at the top of the Premier League and in Europe.
He quickly made his presence felt as seven players including star names Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil were let go as Arteta sought greater squad harmony.
A FA Cup win just months after taking charge bought him time but it took another six years for more silverware to arrive.
In his first season Arsenal finished eighth their worst league finish for 25 years and failed to improve on that in the Covid affected 2020/2021 campaign.
A year later they missed the chance to qualify for the Champions League after a long absence with a late collapse to finish fifth.
Even when major progress resulted in three successive second placed finishes Artetas ability to get Arsenal over the line was questioned.
By building from the back he was often criticised for being too conservative and he has walked a fine line with his exuberant touchline antics.
Even this season many believed Arsenal had lost their way when they suffered four consecutive domestic defeats in March and April ending their interest in the FA Cup and League Cup and allowing Manchester City back into the Premier League title race.
But Arteta managed to right the ship this time to finish the campaign strongly seeing off Guardiolas men and moving to the brink of Arsenals greatest ever season.
If they beat Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30th they will be European champions for the first time.
Sometimes when it is harder at the beginning then it is better so to see that transformation and the joy in the people Arteta said ahead of Arsenals final home game of the season against Burnley.
It is something that is beautiful to watch.
Arsenals nearly man finally has his moment to savour.