Speaking before Arsenal’s FA Cup clash with Leeds on Monday night, Mikel Arteta has insisted that winning trophies is key to taking the club forward.
What did he say?
The Gunners are without a trophy since their FA Cup triumph back in 2017 when they beat Chelsea 2-1 when Arsene Wenger was still in charge. They reached the final of the Europa League last season under Unai Emery, only to fall short against the Blues this time.
Now, recently-appointed head coach Arteta, has talked up the benefits of winning trophies, including the effect it can have on the atmosphere within the changing room.
He said (as quoted by The Guardian): “When I arrived here, obviously we were trying to fight for the Premier League but we did not really have the level of compete and sustain it every year. So the cups become very important and obviously this club has a massive history.
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“I think winning brings togetherness and, when you have beautiful experiences together and you win trophies, then those experiences stay within that group. You like more the people that you work with, you believe more in them, you share some fantastic moments and that habit of winning, winning, winning … after you win, you don’t want to stop winning. You become addicts to that and that’s what we have to try to implement at this football club.”
Winning culture
It’s fair to say Arteta has sent a very clear message on just how important it is for the Gunners to start laying their hands on trophies under his leadership. The first one is always the difficult one, but as the Spaniard alludes to, once that has been achieved, it can often propel you to further success as you will have experienced what it feels like.
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The north London side have drifted into a state of stagnation and even regression in the last couple of seasons, falling out of the Champions League places for starters. Whilst Emery’s first full campaign in charge seemed to be on track, they faded out of the race for the top four, and then were thrashed by Chelsea in the final of the Europa League. Arteta has the chance to rectify that immediately this year, and if he can do so, he could change the tides.
The fact that he repeated the word “win” several times over the course of his impassioned speech shows just how influential titles and trophies can be. It’s a mentality that no doubt would have been built and reinforced at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, who have dominated matters domestically. Half the battle is won in the mind, and Arteta’s stance proves he could help to go one better than what Emery achieved last season.
Meanwhile, this early setback should force Mikel Arteta into taking a tough stance with Raul Sanllehi and Edu.
