Arsenal: Declan Rice’s Real Madrid madness crashes into best Mikel Arteta wins ranking
Arsenal smashed Real Madrid on Tuesday and that 3-0 victory comfortably makes the podium for Mikel Arteta’s best wins as Gunners manager.
10) 100th win v Fulham
To kick things off we have a landmark victory for Mikel Arteta. In March 2023, Arsenal brushed aside Fulham at Craven Cottage – their most recent win there – to leave west London 3-0 victors, the 100th win of the Arteta reign.
It only took Arteta 168 matches to reach 100 wins and he boasted a win percentage of 59.5% at the time, higher than any other manager in the club’s history – including Arsene Wenger, whose 100th win came in his 184th game.
9) Priceless Boxing Day victory
In terms of significance, the 2020 Boxing Day win over Chelsea was right up there for Arteta, who was under relentless pressure and facing the sack.
Arteta’s team was crying out for a creative presence in the No. 10 role and they got that with the integration of Emile Smith Rowe. He is one of the biggest players from Arteta’s tenure and his influence on the team during this period is a huge reason and Arsenal and their manager are where they are today.
Arsenal had only won four of their opening 12 league games and were winless in seven when Chelsea rolled into town on Boxing Day. The Gunners made unexpectedly light work of their London rivals but did enjoy a bit of luck with a debatable penalty decision and Bukayo Saka’s goal, which was definitely a cross.
It felt like a gargantuan victory at the time and it definitely was. Arsenal’s form picked up as they enjoyed a nice seven-match unbeaten run, but they could only finish eighth in the Premier League.
8) Huge win at West Ham
West Ham has always been dubbed A Tough Place To Go but when they make it easy for you, boy do they just roll over.
That was the case on February 11, 2024 when David Moyes’ side were humiliated in their own backyard. Arsenal won 6-0 at the London Stadium to trigger a sensational run away from home, going on to win 5-0 at Burnley and 6-0 at Sheffield United in their next two games on the road to quieten claims that the team needed a big-money striker. They did and still do, but that is not the point.
The best part of the win at West Ham was obviously Declan Rice’s peach. He didn’t celebrate but we all know he wanted to.
7) Returning to the Champions League in style
The silver lining of Arsenal’s failed title charge in 2022/23 was that they comfortably qualified for the Champions League. They were eased back into proceedings with a nice group alongside Lens, Sevilla and PSV – who they met on matchday one at the Emirates.
Hearing the anthem at the carpet for the first time since 2016/17 was a memorable moment and Arteta’s men gave the home fans an evening to remember with a convincing 4-0 victory. The cobwebs were comfortably brushed off with an eighth-minute Saka opener and it was three before half-time.
Martin Odegaard put the cherry on the cake as Arsenal won emphatically on the night and topped Group B with ease.
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6) Bournemouth drama
If this ranking was based on pure euphoria from a result, it would be hard to top Arsenal’s comeback win over Bournemouth, which was bloody mental.
Reiss Nelson’s last-gasp comeback winner remains iconic but it ultimately meant nothing in the Premier League title race as Arsenal ended up finishing second behind Manchester City.
Down 2-0 with 30 minutes left, Thomas Partey, Ben White and then Nelson scored on an afternoon swimming in drama.
5) Finally beating Man City
Man City didn’t just have Arsenal’s number until the 2023/24 season but they were essentially their owners, doing whatever they wanted to them every time they met. That changed in October 2023 when a boring match was decided by a deflected Gabriel Martinelli strike in the 86th minute.
Not only was it a huge win over their title rivals but it was the flick of a switch in the individual battles between Guardiola and Arteta; the City mastermind has not masterminded a win over his prodigy since.
4) Another PSV drubbing
Arsenal’s finest away performance in Europe under Arteta came in the last 16 of this season’s Champions League, beating Dutch giants PSV 7-1 in Eindhoven.
It could have been a very different result and two-legged tie had the referee made the correct decision to give Myles Lewis-Skelly a second yellow card in the opening half-hour, but he dropped his bottle and Arteta rightly brought the young left-back off before the break.
Lewis-Skelly came off at 3-0 in the 35th minute and PSV did give themselves a glimmer of hope with a Noa Lang penalty in the 43rd minute.
That did produce some fears of an almighty Gunners bottlejob but their second-half performance was of the utmost professionalism and they ran out 7-1 winners with six different scorers.
3) Giving Man City a taste of their own medicine
After years of being bullied by Premier League champions Manchester City, Arsenal finally gave Guardiola a taste of his own medicine with the demolition of an out-of-sorts City team at the Emirates in February.
It must have felt so, so sweet for Arteta and his players to go from the bullied to the bullies and in truth, 5-1 flattered City.
Arsenal scored very early, sat back and let City knock the ball around. It was actually a really rubbish game until Erling Haaland’s 55th-minute equaliser gave Arteta and his players a shot in the arm. It was baffling that Arsenal were not going for the jugular before conceding given the Cityzens’ poor form in 2024/25 but when they swiftly retook the lead through Thomas Partey, they could smell blood and pulled their rivals’ pants down.
Six minutes after Partey’s go-ahead goal, Arsenal went 3-1 up through Lewis-Skelly, whose celebration boiled some p*ss. Kai Havertz made it four and Ethan Nwaneri scored a sensational fifth in injury time. What a day for Arteta and Arsenal.
2) Smashing Real Madrid
Arsenal fans are still catching their breath from Tuesday’s incredible 3-0 battering of European champions Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The first half was edged by Arsenal but Real Madrid looked dangerous on the counter and there were some shaky defensive moments for Arteta’s men but they absolutely blew the La Liga giants away in the second period. It was an astonishing performance with three incredible goals.
Mikel Merino’s swerving finish to make it three will go under the radar because Declan Rice scored two belting free-kicks. The first had a stupid amount of power and swerve to give Thibaut Courtois no chance and the second was… just wow. Courtois is a man mountain and got nowhere near to the most top bins free-kick you will ever see.
It was a historic evening at the Emirates and one fans in attendance will never forget.
1) 2020 FA Cup final
There is no doubt that the credit Arteta stored from winning the FA Cup in 2020 saved his job. The club’s Premier League form in the first half of 2020/21 was nothing short of shambolic and had the Spaniard not delivered a major trophy a few months earlier, there is a very good chance the Arsenal hierarchy would have relieved him of his duties. That patience and trust in the process has certainly paid off.
Arteta would end up falling out with club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but he was the crucial player in the Gunners’ FA Cup success in the Covid season. His brace against Manchester City in the semi-final set up a huge final against Frank Lampard’s Chelsea and lightning struck again as Aubameyang bagged two to lead Arsenal to glory.
The Gabonese striker was obviously huge in this trophy win but Arteta’s tactical nous and adaptability was ultimately how Arsenal were able to overcome City and Chelsea. The Gunners played with three centre-backs and Hector Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles at wing-back, making them hard to break down and dangerous on the break.
The individual ability of Aubameyang is what will be remembered but the system deployed by the head coach was perfect for the players he had at his disposal.
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