Mikel Arteta is NOT Normal...
A THREAD š§µ
A THREAD š§µ
You may or may not have heard of the Overton window.
Itās a political term, coined by American policy analyst Joseph Overton in the 1990s, and it refers to the range of policies that a politician can stand for without appearing too extreme, based on an analysis of public opinion at that time.
(This is going somewhere, I promise)
(This is going somewhere, I promise)
But, if for example, political discourse shifts due to a particularly radical or influential politician, certain policies that would have been perceived as pushing boundaries previously may then seem reasonable. Even normal.
At that point, you would say the Overton window has shifted.
Mikel Arteta took charge of Arsenal at a time of huge turmoil.
Managing his first top flight game at 37 years and exactly 9 months old, he has gone on to have the highest win percentage of any Arsenal manager whoās managed over 25 games in the history of the club.
Arsenal look back on course to challenge for league titles, and there has been a total reinvention of the club on and off the pitch.
And he has done all of this in the modern era, with the youngest squad in the Premier League ā at a time when the likes of Man City and Newcastle are backed by countries, and the Premier League is the de facto Super League.
But nowā¦ weāre used to it.
And I think it's SO weird that it's not spoken about more.
And I think it's SO weird that it's not spoken about more.
Pundits and fans alike discuss Arteta like what heās doing is normal. They discuss his faults. They wish he was different in certain ways. They compare him to other managers.
But itās important to remember, that Arteta is not normal. He is so un-normal, that he alone has shifted footballās Overton window to accommodate him.
Hereās how.
Hereās how.
Firstly, there really is no precedent for such a young manager to be doing this quality of work in their first job, at a club of our size. In fact, itās the first time in modern Premier League history.
Arteta is the 32nd youngest manager ever to take charge of a Premier League game. That might sound like a pretty useless stat ā but then you start to look a little closer.
Looking at managers under 40 whoāve played over 38 games in the league (to exclude the likes of Ryan Masonās stint as interim coach at Spurs, aged 29), then only looking at traditional top 6 clubs for a fair comparison, and not including Chelseaās weird player-manager obsessionā¦
ā¦in the 90s, that leaves you withā¦ Andre Villas Boas in 2011.
Unlike Arteta, Villas-Boas had managed two clubs before and got sacked in his first season.
Unlike Arteta, Villas-Boas had managed two clubs before and got sacked in his first season.
Soā¦ quite literally no-one has done this before at the age that heās doing it, let alone to the level of success heās achieving. Even now, Arteta is still the second youngest permanent manager in the entire league ā only AFC Bournemouthās Gary OāNeil is younger, by one year.
To put it another way Klopp has managed 1,002 senior professional games. Guardiola has managed 798.
Ten Hag has managed 477, Conte 584, Potter 435.
Arteta has managed 163.
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As if that wasnāt enough, Arteta is also, remarkably, managing the youngest team in the league, with the average age of the players heās used this season coming in at 24.2.
Liverpool, City, Man United, Newcastle and Spurs are all in the top 10 oldest teams in terms of average age, and Chelsea were too before January. Age doesnāt always equal quality, but developed quality, experience and leadership are huge components of winning football matches.
Artetaās maturity in press conferences and his ability to deal with the press defies his years ā and perhaps that sometimes works against him perception-wise.
Because despite his age, just over 3 years in, Arteta has managed to master almost every single facet of management almost immediately ā to a frightening degree.
There has been consistent improvement at Arsenal, as seen in the expected goals for and against data, almost to the point where it seems strangely linear, while other clubs have not been able to keep up such a consistent improvement over long stretches of time.
Individual players have come on leaps and bounds. Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah, Ćdegaard, Gabriel, Ramsdale, White, Saliba and more all show signs of statistical improvement, and just looking at them on the pitch, you donāt need stats to tell you theyāre getting better.
That comes from coaching, and providing the right environment and tactical system in which these players can flourish.
Of course, many of those are young players, and there will be a natural growth ā but how many young players do we see not fulfilling their obvious potential?
Of course, many of those are young players, and there will be a natural growth ā but how many young players do we see not fulfilling their obvious potential?
And to my eye heās also improved the older players ā the likes of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.
One of Artetaās most underrated qualities is his ability to āmanage upwardsā. Heās been able to create a dynamic and productive relationship with Edu Gaspar and Arsenalās board, which has seen a sustainable and precise approach in the market.
He has been backed; not in a blind way, in a smart way. Heās clearly impressed the Kroenkeās based on what theyāve said. And from what we know about the recruitment process, Mikelās eye is a huge part of it.
To this day, the most expensive signing in Artetaās tenure has been Ben White at Ā£50m.
Every other club in the traditional top 6 has spent more on an individual player under their current management...
... and while Arsenal are comparatively high in their net spend, it was always going to take investment to rebuild the club. The point is the money has been invested wisely ā and Artetaās record in the market speaks for itself.
Arsenal looked ready to go big on Mykhailo Mudryk, which tells me this isnāt a case of capacity, itās a case of thinking clearly and not getting sucked into stupid deals at crazy prices.
A young manager could be forgiven for pushing to do that ā but he hasnāt.
A young manager could be forgiven for pushing to do that ā but he hasnāt.
Character-wise, to come through a period like this in 2020/21 without losing the dressing room is pretty remarkable.
Arsenal used to seem to break some kind of losing record every week, and now theyāre breaking records like these.
Heās also evidently a special individual. You donāt get Pep Guardiola calling you at 30 years old, asking for advice and for you to end your playing days early, if youāre not.
On the field, Arteta has been extraordinary at working within his limits. Some coaches stick to their principles no matter what, and blame their players if the principles donāt help them to win.
But Arteta has slowly dialled up Arsenalās press, carefully changed our shape, moved our defensive line up season on season and crucially added the right ingredients at the right time, showing a remarkable foresight of how he wants to play considering his lack of experience.
For example, we needed a left footed CB straight away for our build up phase, but this team was not ready for a Zinchenko until now. Heās never gone kamikaze to try and prove his mettle.
Heās shown a remarkable adaptability, actually ā something he may have been credited with had we seen his qualities elsewhere before they were on show at Arsenal.
He did all that while dealing with the fallout of the pandemic in his first job, and won 2 domestic trophies on the way.
So then we come to moments like this. Football fans comparing managers, and miraculously finding that their clubās manager is better.
Even if this was true by the significant metrics, like points per game this season, league position, money spent compared to points gained etcā¦ shouldnāt Ten Hag be ābetterā anyway?
As someone who has managed 4 previous clubs and is 13 years older than Mikel, with a higher budget, more high profile players etc etcā¦ shouldnāt he be a better manager?
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This comes back to what I was saying at the beginning.
Previously, it would have been ridiculous to compare a new manager to Pep or Klopp or Ten Hag.
Previously, it would have been ridiculous to compare a new manager to Pep or Klopp or Ten Hag.
But Mikel is competing far beyond where he and Arsenal should be relatively speaking, when you look at wage bills, time in the job, experience levels, team age etc etcā¦ so the Overton window shifts.
Regardless, itās apples to oranges. Itās almost impossible to properly compare managers because thereās so many variables, and we shouldnāt try too much in my opinion.
Whatās also happening now is Arteta is being used as a kind of proof of concept for giving managers time. Recently weāve seen Russell Martin the Swansea boss refer to Arteta as an inspiration and example, and then more notably, Graham Potter.
But to me, using that example, which I think will be used a lot more in future, is another example of how weāre just āusedā to Mikel now, and that window has shifted.
Some donāt see Mikel as an outlier in the mainstream, they see it as normal.
Some donāt see Mikel as an outlier in the mainstream, they see it as normal.
Saying āwell they gave Mikel time so they should give me timeā almost discounts just how special Arteta is.
It erases who youāre talking about, implying that other managers are doing similar jobs, and given time theyād get the same results as Mikel.
It erases who youāre talking about, implying that other managers are doing similar jobs, and given time theyād get the same results as Mikel.
Theyāre not, and they wouldnāt.
I understand the concept is giving people time, and I agree with it as a basic idea, but it has to be caveated. Itās like saying the only thing separating me and Mr Beast having the same amount of Twitter followers is time.
Itās not going to happen. š
Itās not going to happen. š
To me, the moral outrage about Artetaās touchline antics is part of this too. There has to be something to drag him down, and stop us from accepting that he is an outlier, special, in the mould of Pep and Klopp.
But as Pep himself says, when youāre at the topā¦ they have to say something.
Pundits claim that this is just an āoff-seasonā, and other clubs will be ābackā next year, seemingly pointing to some magical 90-point season for City, Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs all at the same time, that never comes becauseā¦ it literally canāt.
A few of the traditional big clubs will always have an off season ā itās maths.
So it tells me thereās a fundamental misunderstanding of Arteta out there, like heās just got lucky, and this hasnāt been coming for years.
So it tells me thereās a fundamental misunderstanding of Arteta out there, like heās just got lucky, and this hasnāt been coming for years.
Of course Mikel has faults. Of course heās made mistakes. But letās not, in the interest of balance and appearing to be critical thinkers, understate the ridiculous nature of this outlier.
Arteta is special. Arteta is that radical politician. He has shifted our Overton window ā and letās not forget it.
Arsenal will lose football matches. But we have a once in a generation manager at the helm ā and letās not forget it.
Arsenal will lose football matches. But we have a once in a generation manager at the helm ā and letās not forget it.
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