Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta celebrates his 40th birthday, as the Premier League's youngest manager continues to prove his credentials at the top level and instil a sense of stability which has been absent in North London since the departure of Arsene Wenger.
No stranger to success during his days as a midfield maestro at the Emirates, Arteta did not hesitate to jump at the chance to take the reins and replace the mediocre Unai Emery after acting as Pep Guardiola's protege at Manchester City.
The Spaniard has since cleared out the deadwood and is building a team focused around a core of young players who pour their heart and soul out for the badge, which spells optimism for the club's chances of returning to the promised land of the Champions League amid their battle for that coveted fourth spot.
However, it has not been all sunshine and rainbows for Arteta in the English capital. Inconsistent patches of form, two positive COVID-19 tests, a flurry of #ArtetaOut posts and tension with certain players behind the scenes have presented themselves, but Arsenal hired the 40-year-old for the long-term project, and he has already delivered some memorable moments during the earliest days of his managerial career.
To mark Arteta's 40th birthday, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how the Gunners boss has fared in domestic and international competitions so far, as well as the highs and lows of his off-the-pitch endeavours.
PREMIER LEAGUE
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The New Year brought new opportunities for Arsenal and Arteta, as on New Year's Day 2020, Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis propelled the Gunners to a memorable 2-0 Emirates victory over Manchester United, but that would be Arteta's only win from his first seven top-flight games at the helm.
A spate of strong performances at the Emirates followed both before and after the first COVID-enforced lockdown - winning six and drawing one of their last seven home games in the 2019-20 season - but some more slip-ups away from home saw Arteta only muster an eighth-placed finish in his first half-season in charge.
Amid their miserable seven-game winless run in the top flight between November and December 2020, the words "Arsenal" and "relegation" began to be used in the same sentences unironically, but Arteta's faith in the youngsters paid off as the Gunners stabilised with five straight wins to claim eighth spot once more.
The #ArtetaOut chants would not cease come the summer of 2021, with no points and no goals from their opening three games leaving the North London club dead last in the table, but it has been full steam ahead since.
Arsenal are in the driving seat for fourth spot, they have amassed 13 more points than they did at the same stage in the 2020-21 season, and their record of 32 points at home can only be bettered by Liverpool and Manchester City.
On the face of it, a record of 44 wins, 16 draws and 25 defeats from 85 Premier League games does not set the world alight, but there is genuine belief that Arteta can now take the Gunners back into the promised land of Champions League football.
CUP SUCCESS
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Claiming back-to-back FA Cup crowns during his playing days with Arsenal set Arteta up well to continue the North Londoners' spate of dominance in the competition, and it took him only six months to win his first major trophy in management as a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang-inspired Arsenal saw off Chelsea in the 2020 final.
Forced to lift his maiden piece of silverware with no fans present amid the COVID-19 restrictions, Arteta nevertheless revelled in his success as he did something not even the revered Wenger could - win a trophy in his first season at the club.
Arteta also became the first-ever Arsenal boss to win the FA Cup as both player and manager, but their defence ended swiftly in the fourth round against Southampton in 2020-21 before Nottingham Forest outfought and outclassed the second-string Gunners at the first hurdle earlier this term.
Arsenal were not renowned for their magnificent EFL Cup runs under Wenger's tenure, and Arteta's former side Man City served him a slice of humble pie with a 4-1 quarter-final thumping last year before Liverpool proved too good in the semi-finals this time around.
A Community Shield victory over Liverpool in 2020 is nothing to be sniffed at either, with those two pieces of silverware certainly placing him in the good books of several Arsenal supporters early doors.
EUROPEAN HEARTACHE
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No stranger to the bright lights of the Champions League during his days as an on-field Gunner, Arteta took on a slightly different flavour of European football in the Arsenal dugout, with Emery guiding the club to the knockout stages of the 2019-20 tournament before his compatriot's arrival.
However, the since-abolished away goals rule gave Arteta a harsh welcome to the life of European management, as Olympiacos knocked Arsenal out in the last-32 stage after a nail-biting extra-time period at the Emirates, with Aubameyang spurning a golden chance to send Arsenal through right at the death.
The 2020-21 Europa League saw Arsenal effortlessly qualify for the knockout rounds with six group wins from six, and they did not suffer a single defeat in the tournament until their 10th outing - an inconsequential 1-0 last-16 loss to old foes Olympiacos at the Emirates.
With the league a complete write-off by this point, Arteta's best chance of securing European football for the 2021-22 season was in the Europa League, but Emery returned to North London with his continental expertise in tow to dash the Gunners' dreams in the semi-finals with Villarreal.
A record of 10 wins from 16 Europa League matches is far from abysmal, but the step-up to Champions League level will be a true test of Arteta's mettle should the Gunners get there.
OFF THE PITCH
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Never afraid to enact an authoritarian approach if he deems it necessary, Arteta saw no room for sentimentality upon his arrival in the dugout, with the fractured relationship between him and former teammate Mesut Ozil making headlines for months on end.
Exiling the silky playmaker for "footballing reasons" saw Arsenal's highest earner collecting his mammoth £350k-a-week wages while watching on from home before his exit for Fenerbahce, and it was Deja Vu when the Aubameyang saga took centre stage only a few months ago.
Arteta has shown that he is willing to forgive but not forget, as despite enjoying a "really good" relationship with Aubameyang as he put it, the Gunners boss did not think twice about stripping him of the armband and parting ways with the clinical finisher, although some would argue that it was time to move on anyway.
Arteta's man management of William Saliba has also divided opinion. The 20-year-old is still waiting for his first senior Arsenal appearance despite being on the books at the club for nearly three years, and while he was beginning to thrive at Marseille back in August, Arteta witnessed a mediocre backline of Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Sead Kolasinac ship five to Man City.
There have undeniably been points over the past two seasons where Saliba would have been useful for Arsenal, but with the centre-back making excellent progress back in his homeland, Arteta's strategy will seemingly bear fruit - so long as Saliba does want to come back and prove himself at the Emirates after a frustrating couple of years.
Arteta is not afraid to make enemies. He is not one to compromise on his principles. Instilling discipline into this young side and ensuring that his senior players handle their responsibility well is of paramount importance. Such an approach is already reaping rewards, his current crop cannot speak highly enough of him, and as fan favourite Martin Odegaard recently put it, the 40-year-old is on his way to being a top manager for "many years" to come.
