“Mikel Arteta never feared failure and was accountable.”
It’s over — the title race in the Premier League is officially finished. Arsenal FC are champions of England after Manchester City suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat away to Bournemouth in the 37th round of the season.
Arsenal FC have now secured their first English league title since almost the beginning of the century, 2003/2004, completing one of the most emotional and disciplined projects modern English football has seen.
At the centre of it all stood Mikel Arteta.
The Spanish coach took complete control of the project from the moment he arrived and carried the responsibility on his own shoulders. His authority inside the club became unquestionable because he made no secret that it was his decision.
Every major decision, every tactical adjustment, every difficult moment — Arteta faced it directly and never hid from pressure.
Other managers searched for excuses, but Mikel Arteta never did.
That is why Arsenal is a champion.
Now and today.
While many managers across the league tried to protect themselves from criticism and shift responsibility elsewhere, Mikel Arteta did the opposite.
He accepted the pressure, absorbed the expectations, and made himself the face of both success and failure.
From December onwards, Arsenal began winning matches through tactical solutions, discipline, and mentality rather than pure beauty. Arteta sacrificed attractive football when necessary and built a team capable of surviving pressure, controlling moments, and winning ugly.
That is what champions do.
They are champions now.
He made mistakes during the journey, corrected them, learned from them, and continued forward. But throughout the entire project, one thing remained clear — if Arsenal succeeded, it would be because of him, and if they failed, the responsibility would also belong to him.
That mentality separated him from everyone else.
Mikel Arteta never feared failure. He stood in front of the project every single week with authority and clarity:
“I am responsible. I am the manager of Arsenal. Judge me.”
And in the end, he succeeded.
We have new Champions of England.
About the Author
