Football

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta ‘delighted’ after joining Gunners 100 club

March 13, 2023 2:00 pm
Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has expressed his delight at securing his 100th win in charge of the club.

The Spaniard brought up the total in Sunday’s victory at Fulham, with the Gunners easing past their London rivals 3-0 at Craven Cottage.

Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all netted in the first half to secure the three points and restore Arsenal’s five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Manchester City sit second, with Manchester United well behind in third, meaning it is very much a two-horse race for the title.

Arteta ‘delighted’ with 100 wins

Arteta certainly didn’t have the best start to his Arsenal managerial career, with many supporters calling for him to be sacked in his early days amid initial struggles.

But he has turned things around dramatically in the dugout, with his century of victories coming in just 168 matches. It means his overall win percentage of 59.5% is the highest of any Arsenal manager in history.

While the boss is pleased with achieving the superb feat, he is more focused on bringing silverware to the club, as per the Arsenal website.

“To come here and perform the way we’ve done against a team like Fulham in this stadium, I think the players deserve a big compliment,” Arteta said after the match.

“With the way we played, the goals that we scored, the clean sheet and the determination and purpose that we showed today to play the way we want to play.

“It’s great (100 wins), we have to continue like that, I’m delighted to do that, unfortunately, it’s not a title, so there’s still a lot to improve!”

Gunners enjoying strong campaign

The current campaign has featured very few low moments for Arsenal, who have won 21 of their 27 Premier League matches, drawing three and losing three. The record means Arteta’s win ratio for this season stands at 73%.

Arsenal are also still in Europe, with their next match in the competition coming up on Thursday with a round of 16 second leg encounter with Sporting. The two sides played out a four-goal thriller last Thursday, with the game ending 2-2 in Lisbon.

Crystal Palace visit the Emirates in the Premier League just three days later, with Arsenal free to enjoy a lengthy break due to their lack of involvement in the FA Cup and then the upcoming international break.

April then represents a crucial month for the Gunners, with the north London outfit set to meet Premier League giants Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Arsenal

Arteta thanks entire Arsenal collective

As with any title challenge, countless people are involved, and Arteta has taken a moment to share his delight at all the moving parts in the Arsenal setup.

“It is incredible and that means that we have a lot of people doing the right things at the club,” added Arteta. “In the team a lot of players contributing immensely and especially the support that we have, which in my opinion, has absolutely transformed this team with that energy, so I’m really happy.”