At the same time last year, Gary Neville once said that Mikel Arteta's biggest achievement at Arsenal was not the FA Cup title in 2020, but that he still held the coaching seat after 5 consecutive seasons without winning major titles. The former Manchester United defender commented: "We once thought that the era of patience like this had long ended.
Looking at it from that perspective, the journey to bring Arsenal to the throne in the Premier League this season is not only Arteta's victory, but also a reward for the trust that the club's leadership has placed in him for many years.
Despite the times of losing momentum at the decisive moment, Arsenal continued to support Arteta, especially in the transfer market. The time, money and patience they spent on the Spanish strategist finally brought results, when Manchester City stumbled against Bournemouth in the middle of the week, opening the moment of coronation for the Emirates home team.
Reality shows that the "Gunners" were right to believe in the process. Arteta once affirmed that he would "do the right thing" if given more time. Although that journey lasted longer than initially expected, the Spanish coach finally kept his word, helping Arsenal end the 22-year Premier League title drought.
It is not only a victory of patience from the club's upper echelons, but also the result of perseverance and faith that Arteta has never lost.
As Arteta himself has repeatedly admitted, Arsenal at the time he took over was in a comprehensive crisis. The prolonged disappointment at the end of Arsene Wenger's reign has turned into a sense of indifference under Unai Emery.
Of course, there are still opinions that if Emery received the same support as Arteta, he could completely achieve similar success. What Emery has done with Villarreal or Aston Villa shows that he is one of the leading coaches of modern football.
However, before being sacked in November 2019, Emery lost the trust of fans. Even the appointment of Freddie Ljungberg as interim coach could not improve the gloomy atmosphere surrounding Emirates.
Arteta still remembers very clearly the last time he came to the Emirates stadium as Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City, just a few days before officially accepting to lead Arsenal.
That image haunted me. The stands were too empty, the atmosphere was really heavy. I thought that with that situation, this project would be very difficult to succeed" - Arteta recalled.
The situation became even more difficult when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. From the stadium being only half full, Arsenal had to play in completely empty stands.
No one can deny that Arteta has done a very good job of laying the foundation for a team capable of competing for titles. But for many years, there have been doubts about whether he is the right person to turn Arsenal from a competing team into a true champion.
Right in this season, The Gunners also faced the risk of finishing second once again, especially after the home defeat to Bournemouth in April, a match where pressure from the Emirates stands seemed to directly affect the performance of the players.
However, at the most important moments, Arsenal fans still side with their team and coach. The enthusiastic atmosphere at the Emirates in matches against Fulham in the Premier League or Atletico Madrid in the Champions League shows how strongly they have changed since the 0-3 defeat to Manchester City at the end of 2019.
Before the match against Burnley, Arteta shared: "When things are difficult in the early stages, witnessing change and everyone's joy later becomes even more meaningful. That is very special".
