Title-winning Arteta joins elite Arsenal managerial class

After leading Arsenal to the 2025/26 Premier League title, Mikel Arteta has firmly etched his name into the club’s history as one of its greatest managers of all time.

The former captain has become the first ex-Arsenal player to return and guide the club to a top-flight championship as manager, ending a 22-year wait for league glory and completing a remarkable transformation since his appointment in December 2019.

Since taking charge, Arteta has delivered consistent year-on-year progress, never finishing lower than the previous season across his six-and-a-half years in north London.

He initially guided the team to an eighth-place finish during his first partial season, which also ended with FA Cup success, before matching that league position in 2020/21.

From there, he elevated Arsenal to fifth place the following campaign, laying the foundation for the sustained rise that ultimately led to Premier League triumph.

He came agonisingly close to the Premier League title in each of the following three seasons, all of which ended in runners-up finishes. However, he has now taken the final step, joining the elite group of Arsenal managers to have won at least one of the club’s 14 league championships.

What makes Mikel Arteta’s achievement even more extraordinary is that he was entrusted with the role despite never having managed a senior team before. The last manager to win the English league title in their first managerial job was Kenny Dalglish, who achieved the feat after taking charge of a dominant Liverpool side in the 1980s.

Arteta now joins a select group of Arsenal managers who have delivered league glory, including Bertie Mee, Tom Whittaker, George Allison and Joe Shaw.

At just 44 years and 54 days old, the Spaniard also becomes the youngest Arsenal manager to win the league title, narrowly surpassing George Graham, who was 124 days older when he secured the 1988/89 championship.

Only José Mourinho has won the Premier League at a younger age than Arteta.

Youngest managers to win the Premier League

Mikel Arteta also becomes only the second person to feature in the Premier League as a player and later win the competition as a manager, following Roberto Mancini, who played for Leicester City in 2001 before guiding Manchester City to their first title 11 years later. His mentor, Pep Guardiola, remains the only other Spanish manager to have lifted the Premier League trophy.

Having secured 25 wins this campaign to seal the title and return the league crown to the Emirates, Arteta has further strengthened his legacy. He also led Arsenal to the Champions League final, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain in a bid to be crowned Europe’s top club.

The Arsenal boss has now surpassed a 60% win rate across his 351 matches in charge, placing him above club legends such as Arsène Wenger, George Graham and Herbert Chapman in terms of win percentage among managers with at least 50 games.

After ending the club’s long wait for a league title, he now has the opportunity to achieve a feat no Arsenal manager has ever accomplished in the club’s 139-year history — guiding the team to European champions.

SOURCE: Asernal.com