Advertisement
Mikel Arteta enters Arsenal’s history books as coach after Gunners’ EPL win
20th May, 2026 07:39 AM
Mikel Arteta cemented his place in Arsenal’s history as one of our greatest managers of all time following his English Premier League triumph with Arsenal.
The London club was officially declared the 2025/26 league champions after Manchester City dropped crucial points in the penultimate clash away to Bournemouth.
The Invincibles’ team
The result left Arsenal with an unassailable lead at the top, securing the club’s first-ever league title since their Invincibles run of 2004 under Arsène Wenger.
“Our former captain has become the first former Arsenal skipper to go on and lead us to a top-flight championship as a manager, having ended our 22-year wait after overseeing a huge transformation in our fortunes since taking charge in December 2019,” a statement from Arsenal detailing part of their manager’s achievement read.
He is also the second coach, after Roberto Mancini, to play for an English club and later lead it to a league title.
The Gunners, who took over the club hot seat in December 2019, making a return to Arsenal after stints as a player and skipper, became the first former Arsenal captain to go on and lead Arsenal to a top-flight championship as a manager.
Meanwhile, in a feat that summarises the huge transformation during his tenure, Arteta has never finished lower than the previous campaign in his six-and-a-half-year stint in north London.
He also guided the club to eighth in his first few months in charge, leading them to his first silverware by lifting the FA Cup before he replicated that placing in 2020/21.
Arsenal then progressed to a fifth-place finish in his first anniversary at the club.
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.
