Mikel Arteta has finally admitted that Arsenal are title contenders after becoming the club’s most successful manager in his first 150 games in charge.
The Gunners regained first place in the Premier League thanks to Gabriel’s second-half goal.
This gives Arteta 87 victories in charge of Arsenal, five more than Arsene Wenger had at this point.
After 150 games, Wenger and George Graham both have 82 victories, followed by Harry Bradshaw with 78, Tom Whittaker with 75, and Terry Neill with 72.
As Granit Xhaka declared the atmosphere in the camp to be “f****** unbelievable,” Arteta acknowledged for the first time this season that his club is a legitimate contender.
Mikel Arteta stated that: “We are in contention, today. In football, today and tomorrow are very different. But let’s enjoy this time.”
“Manchester City have the best manager in the world, the best team in the world. They have shown it consistently in every single competition.”
“We have to be very, very respectful of that. We are getting much better as a team, competing much better, getting really good results right now.”
“Obviously we are still very early in the season. We have to maintain that.”
“It is going to be a long, long marathon but we have had a really good start.”
The bulk of the time, Arteta’s team controlled possession, but Gabriel had to score from close range when Bukayo Saka’s inswinging corner slipped past the box without anyone getting a touch.
With his intuitive response, Xhaka, whose work with Thomas Partey gave Arsenal an iron grip in midfield, forced an apology from BT Sport interviewer Des Kelly and an embarrassed smile from himself.
Added the Swiss midfielder: “From the start to the end we deserved to win.”
“We were much, much the better team and we are so happy that everything is going so well.”
“At the end of the season, nobody asks you how you won in November, December or January.”
“We are trying to get as many points as possible and after that, let’s see where we head.”
Since their victory at Bournemouth on August 20, Arsenal has finished first at the end of every weekend. Arteta added: “It was a significant result for us and another step.”
“To come here against a top opponent, world class players all over the pitch, dominate the game and actually win it is very meaningful. Hopefully it will give the boys even more belief.”
“When we lost at Manchester United we lacked the discipline that is necessary in certain moments to do what you have to do, because if not you get punished.”
“But we learned that lesson really well and it was a fantastic achievement to see the team taking another step.”
“We were under pressure because we lost the top spot on Saturday. We prepared the game to come here and win and the boys did it. They were phenomenal.”
Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea, confessed his squad had not played at its best after losing three straight Premier League games without scoring.
The single shot Chelsea had on goal came from Kai Havertz in the first half, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s only major contribution was a foul on Ben White that resulted in a caution.
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta Amatriain, a professional football manager and former player from Spain, was born on March 26, 1982. Arsenal of the Premier League is under his management.
He was hired by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City as an assistant coach after retirement.
His title was upgraded to manager in September 2020 to reflect his wider responsibilities at the club. He returned to Arsenal in 2019 as head coach and won the FA Cup in his first season.
Arsenal Coaches with most wins in first 150 games
Mikel Arteta after the win at Stamford Bridge, toped the list of Arsenal managers with most wins in 150 games.
The top was dominated by Arsenal’s Legendary Coach Arsene Wenger who had 82 win in 150 games. But the new coach has surpassed that with the recent win over Chelsea on Sunday.
Below is the list of Arsenal’s top managers with most wins in 150 games:
| Manager | Wins in 150 Games |
| Mikel Arteta | 87 |
| Arsene Wenger | 82 |
| George Graham | 82 |
| Harry Bradshaw | 78 |
| Tom Whittaker | 75 |
| Terry Neill | 72 |
