Arsenal Manager: Current Staff and Historical Overview

Arsenal Football Club has a rich history of managers, with Arsene Wenger standing out as the most successful. Since Wenger's era, the club has struggled to reclaim the Premier League title they last won unbeaten in 2004. The club’s leadership seems content with trophies like the Community Shield and FA Cup, though fans dream of bigger triumphs. Arsenal has secured 47 trophies overall but has yet to claim European honors, unlike rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, who have multiple European titles. In the 2024-25 season, Tottenham clinched the UEFA Europa League, while Arsenal continues to chase their first UEFA Champions League victory.

Mikel Arteta: Background and Career

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s current manager, is a Spanish former midfielder who began his football journey at La Masia, Barcelona’s famous academy. Early in his career, he played for Rangers in Scotland and later became well known during his time at Everton. Arteta also spent playing years at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger. Transitioning into coaching, he worked as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before taking the helm at Arsenal. Though trophies have been scarce under his leadership so far, there is hope his tactical approach will soon bring more silverware to the club.

Arteta's Tactical Approach

Arsenal’s style under Arteta combines positional play with a high-press system, creating a hybrid approach. This allows them to control matches against both low-block defenses and aggressive pressing teams. Their impressive victory over Real Madrid in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League showed their ability to dominate top-tier midfields. Arteta’s tactics are influenced by both Pep Guardiola’s emphasis on positional dominance and Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing intensity.

Current Arsenal Coaching Staff

• Manager: Mikel Arteta
• Assistant Managers: Albert Stuivenberg, Nicolas Jover, Miguel Molina, Gabriel Heinze
• Goalkeeping Coach: Inaki Cana
• Academy Manager: Per Mertesacker
• Head of Sports Medicine and Performance: Zafar Iqbal
• Managing Director: Richard Garlick
• Chief Commercial Officer: Juliet Slot
• Chief Financial Officer: Stuart Wisely
• Director of Football Operations: James King

Set Piece Expertise

Nicolas Jover serves as Arsenal’s set piece coach. Born October 28, 1981, in Germany, Jover started as a video analyst at Montpellier before gaining fame at Manchester City for his set-piece work. Joining Arsenal in 2021, he has greatly contributed to their success in dead-ball situations. In the 2023–24 Premier League season, Arsenal scored 20 set-piece goals, the highest in the league, with 16 coming from corners, matching a single-season record.

Historical List of Arsenal Managers

• Thomas Mitchell (Scotland): Mar 30, 1897 – Mar 10, 1898 | 45 matches | 23 wins | 8 draws | 14 losses | GF: 106 | GA: 79 | Win %: 51.11% | Major trophies: None
• William Elcoat (England): Apr 11, 1898 – Feb 16, 1899 | 44 matches | 21 wins | 6 draws | 17 losses | GF: 86 | GA: 67 | Win %: 47.73% | None
• Arthur Kennedy (England): Feb 21, 1899 – Apr 29, 1899 | 15 matches | 8 wins | 3 draws | 4 losses | GF: 31 | GA: 17 | Win %: 53.33% | None
• Harry Bradshaw (England): Jun 30, 1899 – Apr 30, 1904 | 235 matches | 118 wins | 44 draws | 73 losses | GF: 403 | GA: 237 | Win %: 50.21% | None
• Phil Kelso (Scotland): May 1, 1904 – Feb 9, 1908 | 152 matches | 63 wins | 31 draws | 58 losses | GF: 225 | GA: 229 | Win %: 41.45% | None
• George Morrell (Scotland): Feb 10, 1908 – Apr 13, 1915 | 309 matches | 113 wins | 74 draws | 122 losses | GF: 392 | GA: 428 | Win %: 36.57% | None
• James McEwen (England): Apr 19, 1915 – May 24, 1919 | 2 matches | 1 win | 0 draws | 1 loss | GF: 7 | GA: 3 | Win %: 50.00% | None
• Leslie Knighton (England): May 25, 1919 – May 16, 1925 | 286 matches | 105 wins | 63 draws | 118 losses | GF: 367 | GA: 401 | Win %: 36.71% | None
• Herbert Chapman (England): Jun 11, 1925 – Jan 6, 1934 | 411 matches | 204 wins | 97 draws | 110 losses | GF: 879 | GA: 616 | Win %: 49.64% | 2× First Division, 1× FA Cup, 3× Shield
• Joe Shaw (England): Jan 6, 1934 – May 28, 1934 | 23 matches | 14 wins | 3 draws | 6 losses | GF: 44 | GA: 29 | Win %: 60.87% | 1× First Division
• George Allison (England): May 28, 1934 – May 31, 1947 | 279 matches | 129 wins | 74 draws | 76 losses | GF: 534 | GA: 327 | Win %: 46.24% | 2× First Division, 1× FA Cup, 2× Shield
• Tom Whittaker (England): Jun 2, 1947 – Oct 24, 1956 | 430 matches | 203 wins | 106 draws | 121 losses | GF: 802 | GA: 568 | Win %: 47.21% | 2× First Division, 1× FA Cup, 2× Shield
• Jack Crayston (England): Oct 24, 1956 – May 19, 1958 | 81 matches | 34 wins | 17 draws | 30 losses | GF: 148 | GA: 151 | Win %: 41.98% | None
• George Swindin (England): Jun 21, 1958 – May 1, 1962 | 186 matches | 76 wins | 43 draws | 67 losses | GF: 336 | GA: 330 | Win %: 40.86% | None
• Billy Wright (England): May 1, 1962 – Jun 13, 1966 | 182 matches | 70 wins | 43 draws | 69 losses | GF: 336 | GA: 330 | Win %: 38.46% | None
• Bertie Mee (England): Jun 20, 1966 – May 4, 1976 | 539 matches | 241 wins | 148 draws | 150 losses | GF: 739 | GA: 542 | Win %: 44.71% | 1× First Division, 1× FA Cup, 1× Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
• Terry Neill (Northern Ireland): Jul 9, 1976 – Dec 16, 1983 | 416 matches | 187 wins | 117 draws | 112 losses | GF: 601 | GA: 446 | Win %: 44.95% | 1× FA Cup
• Don Howe (England): Dec 16, 1983 – Mar 22, 1986 | 117 matches | 54 wins | 32 draws | 31 losses | GF: 187 | GA: 142 | Win %: 46.15% | None
• Steve Burtenshaw (England): Mar 23, 1986 – May 14, 1986 | 11 matches | 3 wins | 2 draws | 6 losses | GF: 7 | GA: 15 | Win %: 27.27% | None
• George Graham (Scotland): May 14, 1986 – Feb 21, 1995 | 460 matches | 225 wins | 133 draws | 102 losses | GF: 711 | GA: 403 | Win %: 48.91% | 2× First Division, 1× FA Cup, 2× League Cup, 1× Cup Winners' Cup, 1× Shield
• Stewart Houston (Scotland): Feb 21, 1995 – Jun 15, 1995 | 19 matches | 7 wins | 3 draws | 9 losses | GF: 29 | GA: 25 | Win %: 36.84% | None
• Bruce Rioch (Scotland): Jun 15, 1995 – Aug 12, 1996 | 47 matches | 22 wins | 15 draws | 10 losses | GF: 67 | GA: 37 | Win %: 46.81% | None
• Stewart Houston (2nd term) (Scotland): Aug 12, 1996 – Sep 13, 1996 | 6 matches | 2 wins | 2 draws | 2 losses | GF: 11 | GA: 10 | Win %: 33.33% | None
• Pat Rice (Northern Ireland): Sep 13, 1996 – Sep 30, 1996 | 4 matches | 3 wins | 0 draws | 1 loss | GF: 10 | GA: 4 | Win %: 75.00% | None
• Arsène Wenger (France): Oct 1, 1996 – May 13, 2018 | 1235 matches | 707 wins | 280 draws | 248 losses | GF: 2156 | GA: 1147 | Win %: 57.25% | 3× Premier League, 7× FA Cup, 7× Community Shield
• Unai Emery (Spain): May 23, 2018 – Nov 29, 2019 | 78 matches | 43 wins | 16 draws | 19 losses | GF: 152 | GA: 100 | Win %: 55.13% | None
• Freddie Ljungberg (Interim) (Sweden): Nov 29, 2019 – Dec 21, 2019 | 6 matches | 1 win | 3 draws | 2 losses | GF: 8 | GA: 10 | Win %: 16.67% | None
• Mikel Arteta (Spain): Dec 22, 2019 – Present (as of Dec 2024) | 255 matches | 151 wins | 44 draws | 60 losses | GF: 480 | GA: 250 | Win %: 59.22% | 1× FA Cup, 2× Community Shield

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is the current Arsenal manager? Mikel Arteta leads the team.
• Who is considered Arsenal's greatest manager? Arsene Wenger holds that distinction.
• Which clubs did Arteta play for? He played for Barcelona B, Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers, Real Sociedad, Everton, and Arsenal.
• When did Arteta become Arsenal manager? He took charge on December 20, 2019.