How Arsene Wenger reacted when Mikel Arteta was first linked with Arsenal job a year before he was appointed

Wed 19 February 2025 16:15, UK Updated Wed 19 February 2025 17:29, UK

Back in 2019, Arsenal took one of the bravest decisions one will ever see a top club take by appointing a manager with no prior managerial experience in Mikel Arteta.

♍The Gunners took the decision of sacking a proven winner such as Unai Emery to give Freddie Ljungberg the job on an interim basis before hiring Arteta in December six years ago.

At the time, Emery’s Arsenal🐬 side were well and truly struggling, sitting in eight place in the Premier League and having failed to win seven games in all competitions — which was the club’s worst run of results since George Graham’s time at Highbury in 1992.

ARSENAL: 2019/2020 SEASON
LEAGUE POSITION	POINTS	POINTS AWAY FROM TOP FOUR
8th	18	8

As a result, the Gunners’ hand was forced.

But considering Mikel Artetaও was merely Pep Guardiola’s assistant at the time, it seemed a surprise why they went out of their way to appoint him.

After all, Unai Emery was unsuccessful as Arsene Wenger’sꦅ heir and the North Londoners were in need of a manager who was fit to succeed the Frenchman for years to come.

Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsene Wenger was on board with Mikel Arteta managing Arsenal from day one

ꦜBut even a year before Arteta was appointed as Arsenal boss, he was strongly linked with replacing Wenger. However, the club decided to opt for experience by bringing Unai Emery in.

🦩At the time, however, Arsene Wenger gave five reasons why Mikel Arteta would have even suited the job a year before he replaced Emery in the hotseat.

🧜Wenger told in May 2018: “He has all the qualities to do the job, yes and I think as well he is one of the favourites. He was a leader, and he has a good passion for the game and he knows the club well, he knows what is important at the club and he was captain of the club. Why not?”

🌺“I left a lot of experience behind me, people who were with me like Steve Bould who has six years experience and Jens Lehmann too.”

⛄Wenger also cited Mikel Arteta’s experience of working with Pep Guardiola, saying: “He has been an assistant of Guardiola as well, so overall I think he has the qualities.”

꧂“I don’t want to influence that publicly because for me I believe it is important that they make their choice in an objective way and after once they make a decision I will support them.”

What Jose Mourinho laughed about after Arsenal appointed Mikel Arteta in 2019

However, 🀅Jose Mourinho laughed about Arsenal appointing Arteta in 2019 due to his lack of experience.

ಞMourinho said: The only point I can find, and it is for us to laugh a little bit, is that years ago the best managers were the guys with more victories and now the best is the guy with the fewest defeats.”

ܫ“So, [Carlo] Ancelotti has three Champions Leagues, won the league in Italy, France and England and won cups here and there but Ancelotti has lost, I don’t know, 200 matches I have lost 150-180, Carlo is a little bit older than me. I think now it is not about how much you won, it is about the matches we didn’t lose. So, probably the best managers now are the managers with zero defeats.”

🌊“The only reason I can understand is that they look through the CVs and see guys with more defeats and guys with less defeats, so guys with less defeats are given the job. I cannot find another reason.”

ꦜCut to the present and Mikel Arteta has already won the FA Cup while turning Arsenal into consistent challengers for the Premier League throne.

🅷This season as well, Arsenal are right in the hunt to win the title as well as the Champions League — proving Arsene Wenger spot on about the initial endorsement he gave to Arteta as a manager.