Mikel Arteta has said he could not bear to watch Manchester City’s draw at Bournemouth and was building a fire in his garden when Arsenal’s first title in 22 years was confirmed. The manager also admitted his relief at being crowned champions after three successive runners-up finishes and revealed he had questioned whether he was good enough to help his team make the final step.
Arteta had gone to the training ground to watch the City match with the squad on Tuesday, having previously said he planned to stay at home. But 20 minutes before kick-off he decided he could not bear the tension and went back to be with his family.
“I was supposed to be here with the players, and certain staff, because that’s what they wanted,” he said. “But I couldn’t. I had to leave. I couldn’t bring the energy that I wanted.
“It was their moment to be together, watch it themselves and just see what the outcome would be. I went home, went outside to the garden, started to build a fire and started to do some barbecue. I didn’t watch any of it. I was just hearing noises in the background and the living room. Then the magic happened.
“My oldest son [Gabriel, who plays for Arsenal’s under-18s] opened the garden door, ran towards me, started to cry, gave me a hug and said: ‘We’re champions Daddy.’ My other two boys and my wife came over and it was beautiful to see the joy in them – they are always with me.
“It was magical. A minute later Martin Ødegaard was with the video: ‘Where are you? Come over.’ I said: ‘Enjoy it. See you in a few hours, somewhere in London.’”
Asked whether he regretted not being there to celebrate with his players, Arteta added: “It was a moment and they have to be themselves in that moment and if I’m there, I think it was not going to be the same. And yes, I’m glad they did it that way, they enjoyed it so much and the staff was all over the place and then we had our moment together a few hours later.”
Arteta was pictured in a West End nightclub with most of the Arsenal squad, leading chants of “Champions of England”. It has been a personal triumph for the 44-year-old, who phoned Andoni Iraola – the Bournemouth manager and his childhood friend from the Antiguoko youth team in northern Spain – to thank him for his role in helping them become champions. Arteta said it had been “one of the best feelings of his life” and that there had been times when he doubted himself.
“We won the league, but I’m most proud of how we won it,” he said. “Because we showed a very important value not only in sport but in life as well, which is perseverance. That is to be resilient, to be composed in moments when people are doubting, to be vulnerable, because I’ve asked that question to myself: am I good enough to lead this team, this club, these players to win a major trophy? Until you do it, you cannot validate yourself.
“And I thought about many ways. What is the best way to do it? We have to bring people from outside and speakers to inspire them. And then you have to find your own way. But the big lesson here is stay humble, stay curious and focus on the point and what you want to achieve.”
Arteta pointed to a meeting, a few days before Arsenal’s first match of the season, around an olive tree he planted at the club’s training ground after he was appointed in December 2019.
He said: “I got all the players together and I told them: ‘Look at each other, look at the squad that we built over the summer and that we are capable of everything, that we can be very, very good. It only depends on us and on our behaviours and everybody understanding the role I’m going to have daily or on the day, to give the best for the team.’ And once they realised that, I think we went to a different level.”
Arsenal are understood to be hopeful that Jurriën Timber may be fit to face Paris Saint-Germain in next Saturday’s Champions League final and have Mikel Merino back in training. “Now, of course, you want more,” Arteta said, “and we have the biggest one to play in Budapest in a few days.”
