Arsenal Managers: All-time list of Gunners bosses, and how long they lasted

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FT Desk

Arsenal have been transformed by Mikel Arteta over the past few years, with the Spaniard bringing Champions League football back to the Emirates and consistently challenging at the top of the Premier League.

Arteta and the Gunners are involved in a fierce title race in 2025/26 and are hoping to win the top-flight for the first time in over 20 years.

Arsene Wenger was the manager the last time Arsenal won the Premier League, and the Frenchman was the cornerstone of the Gunners’ success throughout the late 1990s and 2000s. Since his departure, however, the glory days at Arsenal have seemed like a distant memory.

The 2020 FA Cup triumph is the only major trophy the club have won since Wenger left in 2018. Arsenal have also not lifted the Premier League since 2004, when they went the whole season unbeaten in the league.

But, Arteta has been lauded for his work at the Emirates and he will be hoping to finally end Arsenal's championship drought soon.

In fact, he currently possesses the best win percentage of any permanent Arsenal manager in history (59.5%), closely followed by Wenger (57%) and Unai Emery (55%), the man he replaced in the Emirates dugout in late 2019.

While the Gunners have enjoyed a relatively successful period over the course of the past 30 years, their best period came in the 1930s, with five league titles won during that decade. Herbert Chapman and George Allison were both at the helm during that time, but neither can lay claim to the best record of any Arsenal manager.

In total, Arsenal have had 20 permanent managers in their history, with 11 enjoying periods of five or more years in charge. No manager has ever taken permanent charge in two separate spells in the Gunners’ history.

Arsenal managers list