And he wasn’t wrong
Finally: Arteta is a Premier League winner
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Mikel Arteta is finally a Premier League-winning manager. Arsenal’s first league title in 22 years was secured on Tuesday night, when Manchester City only managed a 1-1 draw away to Bournemouth.
The Gunners are now on 82 points – four points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side – with one game remaining. Now they can turn their attention to the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain on May 30 in Budapest, where they are chasing the club’s very first title in the tournament.
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It has been a remarkable season for the north London club. Arteta, meanwhile, broke a six-year trophy drought. But while some doubted him during those difficult years, Jose Mourinho saw it all coming years ago.
Mourinho’s prediction for Arteta
Arteta and Mourinho have met as managers three times. The iconic Portuguese won two of them – both as Tottenham boss. But after Mourinho won his first two meetings against Arteta in 2020, he admitted that he could see what the Spaniard was building at the Emirates. He also sent a warning to rival managers about what would come if Arteta was allowed to complete his plan.
After a 2-0 win for Spurs in December 2020, Mourinho said:
“I want to give kind words and congratulations to Mikel, because he gave us a very difficult game. Tactically, they are very good – they were very well organized. They built up with four and defended with five. In the second half, they tried to find triangles on the sides, and that gave us problems – problems we were able to solve because the players have a good tactical culture. And more importantly: They have an incredible will to win. But they gave us problems because they are a good team and he (Arteta) is a good coach. But we deserved to win – two fantastic goals.”
“I can imagine that the headlines tomorrow are about them not doing well in the table. But I think with these players, with Mikel, Arsenal is going to be Arsenal again.”
Arteta makes history
After securing the Premier League title, Arteta has finally shown that he has the vision and ability to make Arsenal one of the best teams in world football.
Three straight runners-up made many question whether he was the right man for the job – especially as Arsenal led all these seasons. When it seemed that they had once again lost their grip, the questions were raised again.
But now Arteta can put all that behind him. He has full backing from the board and supporters when the team goes to Budapest to write history in the Champions League. In addition, he could become the first Arsenal manager ever to win two straight league titles. And Mourinho? He saw it all the time.
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