Mikel Arteta has been named the Premier League Manager of the Season.
The Gunners manager beat Pep Guardiola, Andoni Iraola, Brentford’s Keith Andrews, Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris and Manchester United’s Michael Carrick to the prize.
Arteta led Arsenal to their first title in 22 years after three second-placed finishes, topping the table since October and becoming champions with a game to spare.
The Spaniard took over the club at arguably their lowest point in the Premier League era in December 2019, but their triumph this season is the culmination of six-and-a-half years of work.
Arsenal lifted the trophy at Crystal Palace on Sunday and Arteta said: “The fans have been waiting for this for so long.
“We have had some difficult moments along the way but all of them are worth it when you see that kind of reaction.
“We showed an incredible connection, an incredible commitment and incredible courage as well. Everything around us was fuel for the desire to go and do it.
“There are doubts and the understanding that maybe you are not the right person. But thanks to God that we have done it. I feel a lot of joy and a lot of relief as well.”
From lowest point to historic high, how Arteta transformed Arsenal
How Arteta transformed Arsenal into Premier League champions
Sky Sports’ Nick Wright:
This time last year, after a narrow win over Newcastle in the final Arsenal home game of a difficult season, manager Mikel Arteta, deflated but defiant, microphone in hand on the Emirates Stadium pitch, vowed that his side would come back stronger.
“We have to start creating our own history here. There is much more to come. We have to do it all together. It’s not going to be easy, but this group of players, I’m telling you, they have the hunger, the quality, the talent, and we are going to make it happen.”
Arsenal supporters had of course heard similar before. This was their third straight season as Premier League runners-up. But they were not empty words. As predicted, it was far from straightforward. In fact, most fans would agree it was excruciating at points.
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Arteta reveals the two moments he feared Arsenal’s Premier League title was slipping away – and how music changed everything!
A year on, though, Arsenal are champions, the wait over.
For Arteta, it is the culmination of six-and-a-half years of work.
He inherited a club in a state of drift when he took the job, his first as a head coach, in 2019. The squad was an expensively assembled mess. Supporters were disengaged. Standards had slipped.
The transformation has been exhaustive, with Arteta one of few constants. Arsenal, once soft-centred and easily bullied, are now characterised by steeliness and a fierce will to win, described by Pep Guardiola as one of the most competitive sides he has ever faced.
Read more about Arsenal’s transformation under Arteta
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
