The Gunners have rewarded Mikel Arteta with a new three-year contract, the club’s website confirmed on May 6. The side are on course to qualify for the UEFA Champions League – and could also snatch the third position from Chelsea late on.
The Spaniard has been in his position since 2019, joining the club midway through the 2019/20 season as head coach before being upgraded to manager shortly after.
So far, Arteta has led Arsenal to an FA Cup and an FA Community Shield win, both of which came in 2020. Domestically, though, the Gunners have remained inconsistent, enjoying spells of good form but, at times, also failing to win game after game for weeks.
One needn’t go very far to find an example of the same: between April 4 and May 1, Arsenal lost three successive games against Crystal Palace, Brighton, and Southampton before winning their next three against Chelsea, Manchester United, and West Ham.
Despite those unpredictable streaks this season, Arteta has steadied the ship enough to steer it back into Europe. The Gunners are confirmed for European football next season and are in pole position to qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stage. The next step, as per the manager, is regular appearances in the same competition.
“We want to take the club to the next level and to compete really with the top teams. In order to do that, we have to be playing in the Champions League.
We have to be able to evolve the team, improve our players, improve all departments, generate even more connection with our fans, improve the atmosphere at the Emirates, be able to recruit top, top talent and the best people for this club to drive this project to that level.”
the tactician said in a statement.
Arsenal also confirmed in the same statement that women’s team manager Jonas Eidvall, too, has signed an extension until the end of the 2023/24 season. Arsenal are a point behind leaders Chelsea in the Women’s Super League with one game to go.
