Arsenal has announced a promotion for Mikel Arteta less than a year after the Spaniard took over the coaching reigns as the team continued to find some stability on the sideline since the departure of Arsène Wenger back in 2018.
Arteta’s official title will now be “first-team manager” according to the Club as the 38-year-old will now have a bigger voice when it comes to the day-to-day operations of the team.
All of this coming as Arsenal remained busy during the short EPL offseason restricting both on and off the pitch.
ESPN:
As part of an overhaul which led to 55 non-playing staff redundancies, the departure of head of football Raul Sanllehi and a number of long-serving scouts, the club has also made Vinai Venkatesham chief executive.
Venkatesham, who was previously managing director, will oversee a three-man team responsible for all football affairs as Arteta works closely with technical director Edu and academy manager Per Mertesacker.
“He has walked into probably the toughest nine-month period this football club has had in its 134 year history,” Venkatesham said of Arteta. “I say probably, but I checked with [life president] Mr. [Ken] Friar and he has been here for 70 of those years and he says it is the toughest period the club has ever had so, take it from him if you don’t want to take it from me.
“During that period Mikel has lifted the spirits of fans, staff, players and driven this team to an FA Cup semifinal and an FA Cup final, winning that trophy and winning the Community Shield. That is no mean feat.
“And we really acknowledge the man’s capabilities, and that the man’s capabilities fit much better as a manager than as a head coach.
Finishing eighth in the EPL this past season, Arteta was able to guide the Gunners to their 14th FA Cup with a win over Premier League counterparts Chelsea last month. However, Arteta’s biggest successes thus far with Arsenal have probably come off the pitch as he’s been able to seemingly stabilize and boost morale among the players, something that Unai Emery didn’t seem able to accomplish. Notably, Arteta has forged a healthy relationship with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the superstar agreed to a three-year contract extension after previously hinting that he wanted out of North London.
