The Spaniard was appointed as the North London side’s permanent replacement for compatriot Unai Emery on December 20, 2019. Upon his return to the Emirates Stadium, Arteta made a bold promise to bring more silverware to the club in talks with the club’s owners.
Speaking at the time, he said: "We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game. That's been made very clear to me in my discussions with [owners] Stan and Josh Kroenke and the senior people from the club."
Arteta almost immediately made good on those words in his debut campaign with the Gunners. He managed to lead Arsenal to the FA Cup in the rescheduled 2020 final against capital rivals Chelsea.
Former club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice after Christian Pulisic had given the Blues the lead at Wembley. Almost the instant that the celebratory ticker-tape had settled onto the floor, Arsenal were celebrating another trophy.
While regarded as somewhat of a glorified friendly, the Gunners then overcame Liverpool in the Community Shield. Aubameyang was the hero for the side once again as he scored in normal time before netting the winning penalty in the resultant shoot-out.
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Since then, things have gone relatively quiet for Arsenal. The furthest that Arsenal have gone in any cup competition is their run to the semi-finals of the 2021/22 League Cup, where they came unstuck against Liverpool.
While cup competitions have not quite gone the way that Arteta or his side will have been hoping, the Gunners have enjoyed better luck in the Premier League. Arsenal pushed Manchester City in the race for the league title last term.
They were firmly in the thick of the battle until the penultimate game of the campaign - their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest handing the trophy to Pep Guardiola's side. Fortunately, their challenge does not seem to have been a flash in the plan.
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The weekend victory over Brighton has seen the Gunners build a one-point advantage at the top of the table. Arteta however believes that their lead is not too important at this stage of the season.
"I think it’s irrelevant at the moment," he said following the Brighton success. "There’s still a long, long way to go. Every game is just a huge battle between two teams. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against. We all suffer and we all have to dig really deep to win games. There’s no exception here. It’s the same for us."
He could potentially change his mind should the Gunners secure another statement victory against Jurgen Klopp's side. For the time being at least, he will reflect on a promise turned good amid another challenge for a much sought-after Premier League crown
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