Any remaining labels of arrogance surrounding Mikel Arteta were firmly shaken off after gracious Arsenal press conference explained his perfect reason to miss his players’ initial celebrations
Arsenal have ended their 22-year wait to lift the English top-flight crown, winning the Premier League title with a game to spare ahead of Pep Guardiola’s near-relentless Manchester City. And two days later, Mikel Arteta was welcomed by the press to speak on the achievement for the first time as a Premier League winner.
Arteta has been in the job since 2019 and has faced plenty of scrutiny, criticism and doubts. Even within his club’s own fan base, the former club captain turned manager has needed to fight against a torrent of backlash at times.
One such claim that has persisted has been that the Arsenal manager’s arrogance had been holding back the side. Social media, which, granted, is never the best place to look for nuanced or sensible discussion, has been awash with it for years.
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Many, however, took to the platform to highlight a specific quote from his press conference when detailing the night of celebrations, which brought any such labels crumbling down. On the night that the league was won, Arteta explained why he was not watching the game at the training ground when videos emerged from the Sobha Realty complex.
“You don’t realise it, probably,” he said. “It was one of the best feelings I ever had. I was supposed to be here, watching the game with the boys, and that’s what they wanted, but I couldn’t. I think 20 minutes later, before the game, I had to leave.
“I couldn’t bring the energy that I wanted and I think it was the moment to watch it together, to be themselves and just see what the outcome would be. I went home, I went outside to the garden, I started to build some fire, I started to do some barbecue, I didn’t watch any of it. I was just hearing some noises in the background in the living room and suddenly the magic happened.
“My oldest son opened the garden door, he started to run towards me, he started to cry, he gave me a hug and said, ‘We are champions, Daddy.’ And then my other two boys and my wife came over and it was beautiful. Just to see that joy on them as well, that they are always with me, it was magical.
“And I think a minute later, Martin with the video. ‘Where are you? Come over,’ he said. I said, ‘Guys, enjoy it for a while and I’ll see you in a few hours somewhere in London.’ And yeah, it was beautiful.”
Pictures wouldn’t emerge until after the chaos of the evening had worn away and Arteta’s explanation that he joined the team later certainly matches up with what was seen. He wanted this moment to be about the players.
Despite his key role, all the attention, the focus, the accolades and joy were instead centred on the team. There is nothing less arrogant than the consideration of everyone first before yourself.
Even when I put the question to him whether this league title meant he could enjoy a feeling of vindication beyond the joy and relief that surely exist, he instead humbly admitted that it was always possible someone else could have done it faster than him.
“Nobody knows that,” Arteta replied. “And I’m sure that somebody else will have done things in a different way and maybe achieved the same objective or better or earlier.
“So I don’t know. What I’m sure is that I follow my instinct. I try to represent the values of this football club and all the people.
“I’m extremely grateful to all the people that have been in that process. I don’t have to name them, because they know who they are, because I have made sure that they feel part of this ownership as well.
“Because when I joined, they were in a place, and they deserve all the credit for what they’ve done with this football club. And especially, again, the manner that they’ve done it and the way they have inspired everybody at the club. And then, yeah, for me personally, it’s a massive one, because 22 years is a long long time.”
This should put to bed any of those remaining claims, whether you ever gave them any consideration, as many did, but as we can clearly see, certainly shouldn’t have. Arsenal’s gracious winner now looks to take aim at the UEFA Champions League final.
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