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Mikel Arteta bags EPL best coach award after ending Arsenal’s 22-year trophy drought
27th May, 2026 07:03 AM
Mikel Arteta has won the Premier League Manager of the Season award.
The feat for the English Premier League title-winning manager for the 2025/26 season comes after he led Arsenal to the title, ending a 22-year wait for the domestic accolade. After finishing as runners-up for three consecutive seasons, Arteta finally got his team over the finish line, beating out Manchester City to secure the championship.
The Spaniard emerged as the best in a six-man coaches’ shortlist that also included Sunderland manager Regis Le Briss, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Michael Carrick of Manchester United, Keith Andrews of Brentford, and his former boss and master, Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, who exited the side after 10 years.
Arsenal was officially confirmed as the new England champions on May 19, 2026, after rivals Manchester City drew AFC Bournemouth, leaving the Gunners with an unassailable four-points lead at the top of the league.
The Gunner gaffer also made history by achieving the rare feat with Arsenal in his sixth season in charge at the club. The former captain became the first former Arsenal skipper to go on and lead the team to a top-flight championship as a manager.
The Spaniard who took charge of Arsenal in December 2019 also became the second coach, after Roberto Mancini, to play for an English club and later lead it to a league title.
Elite company
Ranking with Arsenal’s great managers, he joins a list of managerial greats to have led Arsenal to league success, joining the likes of Arsène Wenger (3-time winner) and George Graham, Herbert Chapman, Tom Whittaker, and George Allison, who won it twice on separate occasions.
Old head on young shoulders
The Spaniard, aged 44 years and 54 days, has also become the youngest Gunners boss to win the league championship, narrowly pipping George Graham, who was 124 days older when he guided us to the silverware in the fabled 1988/89 campaign. Only Jose Mourinho has claimed the Premier League at a younger age than our boss
With the history now under the Spaniard’s belt, he can go on to write himself into Arsenal folklore on Sunday, May 30, 2026, as the Gunners battle PSG for the UEFA Champions League medal.
Arsenal is in contention for Europe’s elite competition, seeking a historic double for the club, a feat that has never been attained in the history of the club’s existence.
