Arteta takes charge of 100th Arsenal game, but he is lucky to reach the milestone?
Stuart Hodge
- Updated: 5 Nov 2021 14:23 GMT
- 9 min read
Arsenal are on a nine-match unbeaten run, winning seven of those, as Mikel Arteta approaches his 100th game as Gunners boss against Watford this weekend.
It’s a good run of form, and one that suggests that patience might be rewarded, but there is no doubt the Spaniard is lucky to have survived 100 games in the Arsenal hotseat.
Winning the FA Cup papered over the cracks of a very inconsistent first season (or half-season, as he took over in December) and a run to the semi-finals of the Europa League, where they were eventually dumped out by his predecessor Unai Emery’s Villarreal in the semi-finals, was probably the highlight of his second campaign.
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It's also worth remembering that their last defeat was a 5-0 humbling at the hands of his former employer Manchester City, one which showed how far Arsenal still have to go to compete with the true elite.
Comparing Arteta’s record with his predecessors’
In both full seasons in charge Arteta’s Arsenal have finished eighth in the Premier League. Given that Arsene Wenger never finished lower than fourth until the final couple of seasons of his long tenure with the lowest being sixth, and that Emery was able to guide them to fifth, Arteta can consider himself very fortunate to be bringing up a century of matches in charge.
Arteta has 53 wins, 20 draws and 26 losses in charge of Arsenal. His team average scoring 1.74 goals a game, and conceding 1.06.
Emery clocked up 43 wins, 15 draws and 20 defeats in his 78 games in charge. He averaged two goals a game during his time in charge, whereas under Arteta that has gone down but the defence has improved and looks more solid.
Also, interestingly, in terms of number of wins at the 100-game mark in charge, Arteta has done better than the late, great Herbert Chapman or even Wenger in terms of number of victories in that time, with George Graham leading the way on 56 wins for his first 100 games.
Have Arsenal got value for the money they’ve spent?
Arsenal and sporting director Edu get on very well, despite being midfielders of different ilks and different generations at the club. By the time Arteta arrived, Arsenal had already begun to fade as a force in terms of jockeying for the title.
Edu was part of a Gunners outfit at the peak of its powers and packed with stars in the early part of the century.
Together, they have been the architects of a transfer policy which has failed to restore the team to the top the way they’d hope it would. But perhaps that is beginning to change with Aaron Ramsdale’s signing, one which puzzled many with Bernd Leno already at the club, particularly catching the eye in recent weeks.
So although the previous year’s recruitment was a big disappointment, barring perhaps Gabriel, this summer they went big and splashed out on Ben White for over £50 million, Martin Odegaard for over £30m as well fairly big fees for Ramsdale and Albert Sambi Lokonga and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Nuno Tavares, meanwhile, looks a snip at just under £7m.
When you also take into account the progression of academy graduates Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe, value is being added into the Arsenal squad, it just needs to be translated into results on the pitch.
What’s next for Arteta and Arsenal?Arteta will no doubt be hoping his 100th game goes a little better than his 50th. At that point, he lagged behind Emery and Wenger in win percentage and his team got comfortably beaten by Liverpool courtesy of a Diogo Jota double and a Mohamed Salah effort.
A lack of European football in the midweek means Arteta and his coaching staff have more time to drill stuff in on the training pitch with the players, as well as extra rest time between games.
The very idea of Arsenal not playing European football would have been unfathomable a decade ago, but here we are. Arteta must ensure they will be next season as another eighth-placed finish would be unacceptable.
Read more about: Premier League, Arsenal
Arteta will no doubt be hoping his 100th game goes a little better than his 50th. At that point, he lagged behind Emery and Wenger in win percentage and his team got comfortably beaten by Liverpool courtesy of a Diogo Jota double and a Mohamed Salah effort.
A lack of European football in the midweek means Arteta and his coaching staff have more time to drill stuff in on the training pitch with the players, as well as extra rest time between games.
The very idea of Arsenal not playing European football would have been unfathomable a decade ago, but here we are. Arteta must ensure they will be next season as another eighth-placed finish would be unacceptable.
Read more about: Premier League, Arsenal
