Whilst Mikel Arteta is a “son of Arsene Wenger”, making waves in the managerial game alongside the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Patrick Vieira and the recently appointed Jack Wilshere, he is more comparable to another iconic Arsenal manager – George Graham.
Graham came into an Arsenal Football Club in the doldrums.
When appointed in 1986, we were 15 years without a title, 7 years without a trophy, and loitering in and around mid-table.
A squad filled with players reaching the end of their career who were not performing as expected, one of Graham’s first tasks was to remove them from the club and replace them with younger, hungrier players. New players were signed and youngsters promoted from the academy.
This is comparable to the situation that Arteta came in, where his first task (or Phase as some like to call it) was pushing out those overpaid, underperforming, egotistical former superstars (Ozil, Aubameyang, etc), and replacing them with younger, hungrier talents.
Graham built a team based on being defensively solid and discipline first. This did not mean he built a defensive team, but one that understood if you did not concede, you did not lose. Likewise, Arteta’s team are disciplined and defensively solid. We do not concede shots on target, let alone goals.
Both Graham and Arteta respected the importance of set pieces – Tony Adams scored 22 goals in the 5 seasons from 1986/87 to 1990/91, whilst Gabriel has 19 and counting in the last 4 and a half years.
This season (and we are in the early stages) is reminding me a lot of 1990/91. The almost invincibles.
That year, Graham’s Arsenal won the league, conceding just 18 goals. And whilst the “Boring, Boring” tag was beginning to materialise, we finished 2nd top scorers with 74 goals. Meanwhile, that lot up the road were beginning to play “thrilling attacking football”, which they were heavily praised for.
In reality, Tottenham’s play was not thrilling, attacking football. It was an ill-disciplined approach that led to chaos, high-scoring games, and not particularly great results. They failed to score more than the 74 league goals Graham’s Arsenal scored in 1990/91 between 1985 and 2017. And have only achieved north of that figure twice in 60-years.
And it was a bit like that last season. Whilst Arteta was being criticised for his disciplined approach, Tottenham had “Ange-ball” and the Australian’s supposed fre-flowing attacking football. We outscored Spurs last season just as Graham continually did as manager.
The key is discipline and defensive solidity. You can do both without being a defensive team.
Graham’s 91 side conceded just 18 goals and won the league as second top scorers.
Under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea conceded just 15 goals in 2005/05 as they won the league. They finished 2nd top scorers.
Right now we have conceded just 3 league goals in 8 games. We are second top scorers.
I am sometimes baffled by the way some of our fans who rightly glorify George Graham and his achievements are then critical of the way Mikel Arteta sets up. The parallels between the two are so obvious.
From inheriting transitional squads, integrating young players, and prioritising a strong defensive structure. Respecting set-pieces and being a disciplinarian. Promoting a pragmatic, defensively solid approach to the game.
The only thing missing for Arteta is the honours (although many seem to forget he has an FA Cup and 2 Community Shields to his name). These will come.
When Wenger left, the question was “who can replace him?”. The correct answer seems to be the reincarnation of George Graham.
PS: Yes, I know GG is still with us!
Keenos