Mikel Arteta has entered a new phase at Arsenal after signing his future with the club, and the Spaniard is now facing the biggest challenge of his project as a manager: to turn the sustained progress into a trophy-laden era.
Arteta has turned a struggling side into Premier League champions and one of the leading clubs in Europe, but his new contract brings higher expectations as he tries to consolidate his work.
The News Chronicle reports that Arteta is already the longest serving manager in English football, which gives him the time and authority to imprint his identity on the club.
But the next step could be more challenging as another squad rebuild may be needed plus rivals are continuing their strengthening around them.
Arteta’s long tenure has also been compared to Jose Mourinho, another manager who has taken a club through different phases but demands a strong hand in recruitment, tactics and standards.
The big question is if he can turn Arsenal’s metamorphosis into sustained dominance and win enough major trophies to eventually surpass the legacy Arsene Wenger left at the Emirates.
For Arteta, the project has reached a point where progress alone will no longer be enough.
