By the end of the 2024/25 season, Mikel Arteta had been in charge of Arsenal for a total of 290 competitive matches. Assuming nothing catastrophic happens in the first nine games of the 2025/26 campaign, the Spaniard will become only the eighth Gunners boss to make it to 300 games in charge. So it seems like a good moment to assess Arteta’s time at the club and compare his tenure with others in the 300+ club.
Arteta’s Arsenal Managerial Stats & Honours
Arteta was appointed as the Arsenal head coach on 20th December 2019, replacing the interim boss Freddie Ljungberg, who in turn replaced current Aston Villa manager Unai Emery. At the time of writing, Arteta has led the Gunners to victory in 169 of his 290 games in charge, with 55 draws and 66 defeats, in all competitions.
Over the course of those games, his teams have scored a total of 544 goals (therefore an average of 1.88 goals per game) and have conceded 291 (at a fraction over one goal per game).
When it comes to honours, it has to be said that Arteta hasn’t exactly filled the trophy cabinet. He led the Gunners to FA Cup glory in his first season in charge, but since then, he’s won just two Community Shields, in 2020 and 2023. His side has finished as runners-up in the Premier League in three consecutive seasons from 2022/24 to 2024/25, which is impressive from a certain perspective. But success is really measured in trophies, and on that front, Arteta has plenty of room for improvement.
There is certainly the feeling that the Basque needs to get a breakthrough in 2025/26, and that means either winning the Premier League or the Champions League or, in an ideal world, both. Another second-place finish with no additional silverware would almost certainly lead to the Arsenal board seeking a new man for the top job at the Emirates. But let’s not consider ourselves with all that at this stage. Instead, let’s take a look at the men who’ve lasted longer than the Spaniard in the Arsenal job.
Arsenal Managers in Charge for 300+ Games
Let’s first take a look at the raw stats of each of the seven managers with more games under their belts than Arteta, with the current boss’s stats added for comparison. Then we’ll delve deeper into each man’s reign and take a look at what – if any – silverware they won.
| Manager | Time as Boss | Games in Charge | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsène Wenger | October 1996 to May 2018 | 1,235 | 707 | 280 | 248 | 2,156 | 1,147 | 57.25 |
| Bertie Mee | June 1966 to May 1976 | 539 | 241 | 148 | 150 | 739 | 542 | 44.71 |
| George Graham | May 1986 to February 1995 | 460 | 225 | 133 | 102 | 711 | 403 | 48.91 |
| Tom Whittaker | June 1947 to October 1956 | 430 | 203 | 106 | 121 | 802 | 568 | 47.21 |
| Terry Neill | July 1976 to December 1983 | 416 | 187 | 117 | 112 | 601 | 446 | 44.95 |
| Herbert Chapman | June 1925 to January 1934 | 411 | 204 | 97 | 110 | 879 | 616 | 49.64 |
| George Morrell | February 1908 to April 1915 | 309 | 113 | 74 | 122 | 392 | 428 | 36.59 |
| Mikel Arteta | December 2019 to Present | 290 | 169 | 55 | 66 | 544 | 291 | 58.28 |
Silverware Won by Arsenal’s 300+ Club
Of those listed above, only one failed to win any trophies: George Morrell. But here’s what the others won (excluding Arteta, whose trophy haul we mentioned earlier):
- Arsène Wenger – Premier League champions: 1997/98, 2001/02, 2003/04; FA Cup winners: 1997/98, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2004/05, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2016/17; Charity/Community Shield winners: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017
- Bertie Mee – First Division champions: 1970/71; FA Cup winners: 1970/71; Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winners: 1969/70
- George Graham – First Division champions: 1988/89, 1990/91; FA Cup winners: 1992/93; Football League Cup winners: 1986/87, 1992/93; Charity Shield winners: 1991 (shared); UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup winners: 1993/94
- Tom Whittaker – First Division champions: 1947/48, 1952/53; FA Cup winners: 1949/50; Charity Shield winners: 1948, 1953
- Terry Neill – FA Cup winners: 1978/79
- Herbert Chapman – First Division champions: 1930/31, 1932/33; FA Cup winners: 1929/30; Charity Shield winners: 1930, 1931, 1933
What Must Arteta Achieve to Become One of the Greats?
Clearly, there are some Arsenal managerial legends among that lot. Herbert Chapman, for instance, got the Arsenal silverware train rolling when leading them to their first FA Cup triumph in 1929 and quickly followed up with their first two top-flight titles. Bertie Mee, meanwhile, helped the Gunners complete their first league and cup double in 1970/71, a feat emulated by Arsène Wenger in 1997/98, and then again in 2001/02. Wenger’s unbeaten Premier League-winning campaign of 2003/04 also goes down in Arsenal folklore as one of their greatest ever campaigns.
Arteta even has quite a way to go to match George Graham in terms of silverware. The surly Scot won the league twice with the Gunners, and we feel the current boss needs to get at least one Premier League crown to be even considered one of the top Arsenal bosses. Really though, to cement his name into the annals of the club’s history, we think the current gaffer needs to do something no Arsenal boss has done before: guide the club to become European champions.
Okay, the Gunners won the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup back in 1993/94 under Graham’s stewardship, and the rather inconsequential Inter-Cities Fairs Cup back in 1969/70 (under Bertie Mee). But no Arsenal boss has ever won the European Cup/Champions League. The closest anyone has come was in 2005/06 when Wenger’s men lost in the Champions League final 2-1 to Barcelona. And in fairness Arteta wasn’t a million miles away from delivering the UCL in 2024/25 as the Gunners progressed to the semi-finals of the competition. Unfortunately, eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain were too good and won 3-1 on aggregate.
Still, after some shrewd signings over the summer, Arteta – and Arsenal’s supporters – will be hopeful the club can make good progress in the coming season and win at least one piece of significant silverware. If not, Arteta might not make it to 400 games in charge.