Mikel Arteta is currently overseeing a second consecutive title challenge at Arsenal, with his side also reaching the Champions League knockout stages.
The Spaniard has been nothing short of a success since becoming manager when considering what he inherited and where he has taken Arsenal since.
Arteta returned to the club he finished his playing career at in 2019, and despite some difficult years, rebuilt the squad into a young, vibrant group capable of challenging at the top level.
It was not always easy for Arteta, who joined shortly before the global pandemic in 2020, and had to endure some dire results during this time, but he was always confident that his team would do well.
Mikel Arteta correctly predicted Arsenal improvement
In March 2021 Arsenal were competing in the Europa League knockouts, but would go on to be eliminated, whilst also finishing in eighth place in the league.
Nevertheless, he was still adamant that his vision would eventually reap rewards, and looking back on his comments now makes for interesting reading.
“We have a really strong group, a really strong bond with our players, with our fans, with our staff and that’s going to pay some big tributes,” he stated in March 2021.
“I think in the future, when everything comes to normality and we are able to work the way is needed to work, with some stability, I think this project is going to go bang.”
How Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal project went ‘bang’
The summer following the 2021 season saw fans return to stadiums, and Arsenal undergo a huge squad overhaul.
The likes of Ben White and Martin Odegaard arrived as promising young stars with some experience under their belts, whilst Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe took on bigger first-team roles.
Veterans such as David Luiz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would leave within the next year, and Arsenal would challenge for a top-four spot, whilst dramatically improving the quality of their play.
They would then explode quickly after the arrivals of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko as proven winners in a young side, and within two years of Arteta’s comments, Arsenal were competing alongside Manchester City.
Arteta’s coaching principles were already there, but securing the right players, in both attitude and quality, helped build Arsenal into what they are today: a young but experienced squad full of quality and versatility challenging at the top end of the Premier League and Champions League.
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