‘He has rebuilt Arsenal’ – now Arteta must clear ‘hardest hurdle’

Arsenal fans can start dreaming of silverware.

The Gunners edged past Crystal Palace on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, as they bid to win a first major trophy since lifting the FA Cup in Mikel Arteta’s first season in charge.

It took a Gabriel Jesus hat-trick, his first goals at Emirates Stadium for more than a year, to come from behind against the Eagles and leave them one two-legged tie away from a first final since that 2020 triumph.

This is Arteta’s second domestic semi-final since that trophy – although they did also reach the Europa League semi-finals back in 2021.

On Friday, Arteta – the Premier League’s third longest-serving manager and English professional football’s fourth – will have been in charge of Arsenal for five years.

We take a closer look at his Arsenal reign and how, despite a lack of trophies, they have transitioned from stuttering mediocrity back to being one of the Premier League’s heaviest hitters.

Now, all that is missing is making that final step.

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague believes, as “one of the game’s deep thinkers and typically obsessed”, Arteta has already shown the capability to take the Gunners further.

He said: “No-one doubts that Arsenal are once again a top-four club that still need one or two adjustments to allow them to compete for the title and add to the one FA Cup and two Community Shields they have currently won.

“I am convinced that Arteta has thought about it and has the personality and vision to bring about the necessary changes.”

This season, Arsenal are six points off the pace in third in the Premier League, and third in the Champions League group table. They now have a League Cup semi-final to look forward to.

It is some contrast to the Arsenal Arteta took over back on 20 December 2019.

Having finished runners-up in 2015-16, Arsenal then failed to finish above fifth during the lost Wenger years and Unai Emery’s 18-month reign – with Arteta coming in with Arsenal 10th in the Premier League.

It is fair to say Arteta, then just 37 and in his first managerial role, inherited a bloated and ageing squad, and he was fortunate his employers were prepared to show real patience.

His first half-season in charge led to an eighth-placed finish and there was little improvement in 2020-21 – including a run of eight defeats in 12 league games at one point – with the Gunners once again finishing eighth.

Those first two years included player unrest, fan dissatisfaction, a global pandemic and the termination of several high-profile player contracts – and few can argue Arteta hasn’t transformed the club from where they were.

It has been a long time now though since Arsenal have lifted the Premier League – the last of Arsene Wenger’s three titles coming back in 2004 – and it is inevitable the longer the wait goes, the more the questions will start to be asked again.

Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith said on Sky Sports: “Maybe the demand is building on social media. It has been a difficult spell obviously and questions will be asked because of the gap. They have to turn it around pretty quickly.

“People say they have to win a trophy – I don’t think that is the case. As long as you can see this is a team challenging at the top, that is progress.”

Scott: Before Arteta arrived, I was on the verge of stopping my support for them because I felt like the Arsenal I grew up loving were gone. Mikel has rebuilt the club, made us solid, given youth a chance to make an impact, made difficult decisions, and been ruthless when needed.

The progress from where we were has been fantastic, especially when you compare to other clubs like Manchester United. I think we have to remember he is a young manager doing remarkably well. The trophies will come!

Savs: Arsenal have come a long way in five years. And this was after a lot more than five years of gradual decline. The comparison is often made with a post-Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United – it’s a fair one and they are still in disarray.

Through this lens, Arteta has done a magnificent job. However, now comes perhaps the hardest final step – winning trophies. He should be given the time and opportunity to do this. But this has to be this season or next. Keep the faith. Keep supporting. Keep believing.

Tharun: He has done what Ruben Amorim is trying to do. We went from a team who were not qualifying in the top four, which was disappointing, to not winning the league which is disappointing. Now we know we can win silverware so we ought to expect one.

Lee: We will never win anything until a striker like Alexander Isak or even Marcus Rashford were to come in. I’m sure Arteta could get him back to his best and then teams would be more afraid of the striker and less dependent on trying to stop midfielders Martin Odegaard or Bukayo Saka. That would open more space for the team to do damage, especially in tight games.

Oyoo: To me, Arsenal are in good shape but lack just one thing in their game and that’s finishing upfront. If only they could fix that, then silverware is not a problem this season. You can’t rely on set-pieces and fail to create chances to score. Even if you create the chance, there is no sharp striker who is calculative enough up front.

Arteta has undoubtedly had backing for his Arsenal project. His ‘trust the process’ motto adhered to by many.

Since he came in, the Gunners have a net spend of £500.14m, according to data from Football Transfers. Man City’s is just £59.75m in that same period, helped by significant player sales of young talent.

It also makes the £235.4m net spend from the five years previous pale into insignificance.

That has allowed him to build a younger, more harmonious squad from the group of players he inherited – including spending big on the likes of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz in recent times.

The Athletic’s Rory Smith told BBC Sport: “It’s seven years since Wenger left and that immediate succession was difficult, but since 2019 when Mikel Arteta took charge, it’s been a pretty steep trajectory.

“They’ve come back to the position they’ve occupied since 2004, which was regularly qualifying for the Champions League, mounting title challenges and being one of England’s undoubted elite.

“In the past year or two it’s maybe slowed down a bit. That might be because the final hurdle is the hardest, but he has transformed a club that had dipped really far and turned them back into what they were.

“The transition for Arsenal post Wenger is not nearly as long as the one for United.”

When asked last month about managing Arsenal for 250 games, Arteta was clear what he thought his biggest achievement was.

“Bringing the club together, 100%,” he said. “Lifting the spirit, giving a very clear DNA to the football club, and pride. To representing this shirt, from the players to everyone involved in the club, in the way that is expected at this level.”

He also knows what the challenge is ahead.

“Now it is about winning, that is the next step for sure.”