Mikel Arteta's Ambition to Win Back-to-Back Premier League Titles
Mikel Arteta has not bothered with modest targets. Fresh from ending Arsenal’s 22-year wait for a league title, he has set the bar even higher: become the first manager in the club’s history to win the Premier League in back‑to‑back seasons.
Last year they finally climbed over the Manchester City mountain. Now he wants to plant a flag there.
Only a select few have done it before in the Premier League era – Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola. Arteta is openly chasing a place among them.
“I’m very excited. We already have some dreams about the competition again with the Community Shield. It’s a new season, new expectations,” he told talkSPORT. “We have the opportunity to do something we haven't done before at this football club, to win it back to back and that is the ambition. It’s not personal, it’s the collective ambition that we have and the ambition of the club. It's a beautiful challenge.”
Life after Pep
The landscape around him has changed. Guardiola’s decision to walk away from a decade of domination at Man City has cracked the league wide open and removed the benchmark that has defined Arteta’s Arsenal.
For years, every tactical tweak, every training drill, every recruitment call in north London carried a single, looming question: how do you catch Pep?
Now the man who set the standard has gone. The adjustment, Arteta admits, feels strange.
“It was different,” he said of facing City without his old mentor. “Obviously I know Enzo [Maresca] really well but obviously the relationship I built with Pep when we were with each other. The amount of headaches and sweats he has provided to me over the last six or seven years to try to catch their level. He’s been an absolute inspiration, he's left a mark on this league forever and he made all of us better.”
The rivalry was personal and professional. Guardiola’s City forced Arsenal to evolve faster, think sharper, spend smarter. Now Arteta is trying to turn that education into a sustained era of his own.
Big spend, bigger questions
Arsenal have already made a statement that matches their manager’s words. The £75 million signing of Bruno Guimaraes sends a clear message about their intent to stay on top, not just visit.
But the squad is not settled. Not yet.
Leandro Trossard’s departure has left a gap in the final third, and uncertainty over Gabriel Martinelli’s long‑term future hangs in the background. That has pushed Arsenal into the market for attacking reinforcements, with the club linked to several high-profile options, including Bradley Barcola, who has also been on Liverpool’s radar.
Arteta will not show his hand, but he does not hide the club’s mindset.
“When we show ambition at the club it has to come from the very top and I think the ownership has been very supportive with everything we are doing at the club,” he explained. “The motivation is always there to be better. If we can identify the talent to make us better then we have to do it but we have to focus on what we have in house to make sure they evolve, grow and be better.”
The balance is delicate: push for one more marquee signing, or double down on the players who finally ended the title drought.
Walking into the storm
Arteta knows what he is walking into. The Premier League looks wilder than ever, the margins thinner, the shocks more frequent.
“You can see how crazy and unpredictable the league is,” he said. “It's better not to talk too much, be prepared, be open and hopefully we can wrap up the transfer window in a really positive way.”
The words are cautious. The target is anything but. Arsenal have their title back; Arteta’s message is clear – now comes the real test: can they keep it?
