Mikel Arteta had to make a change. After three years of frustration of finishing as runners-up, Arsenal were fed-up of falling short. Second again ole-ole, as rival fans kept taunting them.
The Arsenal boss was determined to come out on top this season - and stay there. Arteta’s ambition and the club’s ambition is to seize this opportunity as a period of domination. And people who know Arteta best insist that he will barely allow himself time to celebrate now because he is already focused on what he can do better next season.
So, what changed last summer? There were two big obvious changes quite apart from Arteta’s extraordinary eye for small details and improvements behind the scenes. Andrea Berta, the club’s sporting director, was already in place but this was his summer. Arsenal spent big, increased the squad depth and, biggest of all, they signed a big-name striker in Viktor Gyokeres.
Then in came a new No2 in Gabriel Heinze. Arteta knew the ex-Manchester United and Argentina defender from their time together at Paris Saint-Germain. Heinze is fierce, a pit bull and highly demanding. At times this season, there have been some concerns in the dressing room that Arteta is intense enough without having someone just as intense alongside him. Arteta’s other trusted coach Albert Stuivenberg is very demanding, too.
