MIKEL'S MOST MEMORABLE MATCHES
With Mikel Arteta set to manage his 200th game as Arsenal boss this weekend, we’ve taken a look back at 34 of the most memorable matches during his time as Gunners manager.
2019/20
1 - On New Year’s Day in 2020, Mikel got his first win as our head coach as goals from Pepe and Sokratis Papastathopoulos secured a 2-0 win at home to Manchester United.
2 - Later in the month, we drew 2-2 away to Chelsea, twice coming from behind in the match courtesy of goals from Gabriel Martinelli and a late Hector Bellerin equaliser.
3 - The season came to an end with a marvellous FA Cup run in Mikel’s first season in charge. We beat Sheffield United 2-1 away from home in the quarter-finals thanks to Dani Ceballos’ 91st minute winner.
4 - The semi-finals saw Mikel beat his former employer, Manchester City, for the first time. The Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace and 2-0 win saw Mikel lead us to our fourth FA Cup Final in seven years.
5 - On August 1, 2020, we won the FA Cup Final with a 2-1 win against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium, Aubameyang again scoring twice as Mikel became the first person to win the FA Cup as both captain and coach of Arsenal.
2020/21
6 - We also lifted a trophy at the beginning of the next season, drawing 1-1 with Liverpool in the Community Shield Final before winning 5-4 on penalties.
7 - On September 19, 2020, Eddie Nketiah scored an 86th minute winner as we earned a 2-1 win against West Ham United in our first home game of the Premier League season.
8 - Boxing Day brought more festive joy with a 3-1 win at home to Chelsea. We were desperate for a win having failed to do so in our seven league games prior to Christmas.
9 - After drawing 1-1 away to Benfica in the first leg of the UEFA Europe League Round of 32, we won 3-2 in the second leg thanks to Aubameyang’s 87th minute winner.
10 - March 14, 2021 saw Mikel claim his first win in the North London derby as Arsenal manager. We beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 with goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette.
11 - We demonstrated early signs of the comebackability that would become a hallmark of Arteta’s Arsenal with a 3-3 draw away to West Ham United. We were 3-0 down in 32 minutes, but own goals from Tomas Soucek and Craig Dawson allowed Lacazette to find an 82nd minute equaliser at London Stadium.
12 - Into the Europa League quarter-finals, we won the second leg convincingly, scoring four without reply against Slavia Prague away from home to reach the semi-finals of the competition.
13 - In our final away game of the 2020/21 Premier League season, we were drawing 1-1 with Crystal Palace from the 62nd minute until the 91st, when stoppage time goals from Martinelli and Pepe saw us come away from Selhurst Park with a 3-1 victory.
2021/22
14 - Fans back at Emirates Stadium following the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no better way to celebrate than with a 3-1 win against Spurs. Goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka saw us lead 3-0 in 34 minutes and Son Heung-min’s 79th minute consolation proved to be just that.
15 - After taking a 1-0 lead at home to Crystal Palace, the London derby on October 18, 2021 turned out to be far from routine. Cristian Benteke and Odsonne Édouard turned the game on its head, but Lacazette rescued a point with a 95th minute equaliser.
16 - 1-0 down at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers with eight minutes remaining, up stepped Pepe to equalise. We forced an own goal from Jose Sa in the 95th minute to secure a 2-1 win in dramatic fashion.
17 - Following a run of three consecutive defeats in the league, we travelled to Stamford Bridge hungry to turn things around. Thankfully, Eddie Nketiah, Smith Rowe and Saka delivered the goods in a 4-2 win away to Chelsea.
18 - Just three days later, the good vibes continued with a 3-1 win at home to Manchester United. Nuno Tavares, Saka and Granit Xhaka ware all on the scoresheet in a convincing win at Emirates Stadium.
2022/23
19 - After beginning the unforgettable 2022/23 campaign with a 2-0 win away to Palace, we demonstrated impressive control to win 4-2 at home to Leicester City. 3-1 up after goals from Gabriel Jesus and Xhaka, James Maddison planted a seed of doubt when he pulled one back in the 74th minute, but Martinelli responded straight away, putting us 4-2 up and allowing Gooners to breath a sigh of relief.
20 - Later in August 2022, Fulham were the visitors and ultimately the victims of our ability to come from behind late on. We were all square with the Cottagers after goals from Aleksandar Mitrović and Martin Odegaard before Gabriel netted an 86th minute winner.
21 - Thomas Partey gave us the lead, Harry Kane equalised, Jesus put us ahead again and Xhaka made sure. A 3-1 win at home to Spurs - enough said!
22 - One week later, it was shaping up to be a brilliant October as Saka’s 76th minute penalty secured a 3-2 win at home to Liverpool, who had twice come from behind to equalise before we made sure of the win.
23 - We marked the penultimate fixture before the mid-season break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Gabriel’s 63rd minute goal enough to separate the sides.
24 - New year, same Arsenal! We enjoyed a 2-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 15, 2023, Odegaard scoring after a Hugo Lloris own goal in the North London derby.
25 - The following week, we went five points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 3-2 win at home to Manchester United. 50 points from our opening 19 games represented our best ever start to a top flight campaign.
26 - After a run of three league games without a win, our Premier League title ambitions were rekindled with an incredible 4-2 win away to Aston Villa, in which a 93rd minute Emi Martinez own goal was followed by a 98th minute strike from Martinelli to see us come from 2-1 down to win late on.
27 - Emirates Stadium erupted on March 4, 2023. Philip Billing and Marco Senesi gave AFC Bournemouth a surprise two-goal lead against us, but goals from Partey and Ben White levelled the scoring with 20 minutes to go. Battling until the very last second, Reiss Nelson wrote his name into Gunners folklore with a 97th minute winner. Pandemonium.
28 - Sadly it proved to be too little, too late in our Premier League title challenge, but we didn’t know that when we came from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 at home to Southampton thanks to 88th and 90th minute goals from Saka and Odegaard respectively.
29 - An Odegaard brace and a goal from Jesus helped us to a 3-0 lead at home to Chelsea on May 2, 2023. The Blues had little response in the London derby, Noni Madueke pulling one back in the second half as we went on to win 3-1.
2023/24
30 - This season began in perfect fashion as we beat Manchester City 4-1 on penalties in the Community Shield Final at Wembley - Mikel’s third trophy as Arsenal manager.
31 - With the game delicately poised at Emirates Stadium after first-half goals from Marcus Rashford and Odegaard, it was summer signing Declan Rice who was on hand to provide a breathtaking moment in our 3-1 win against Manchester United. Jesus’ 101st minute goal was the cherry on top.
32 - We marked our return to the UEFA Champions League with a professional 4-0 win at home to PSV Eindhoven on September 20, 2023. Goals from Saka, Leandro Trossard, Jesus and Odegaard made it look like we firmly belong in Europe’s top competition.
33 - On October 8, 2023, Mikel finally got his first league win against Manchester City. We kept the score at 0-0 until the 86th minute, when Martinelli provided a moment of magic to secure a vital 1-0 victory against Pep Guardiola’s side.
34 - We weren’t at our free-flowing best following the October international break, going 2-0 down to Chelsea due to goals from Cole Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk. But our never-say-die attitude saw us rescue a point courtesy of late goals from Rice and Trossard.
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