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Seven years after returning to a fractured Arsenal, Mikel Arteta will lead his side into Saturday\u2019s Champions League final against Paris St Germain, one win from completing a remarkable rebuild.<\/p>\n
Guiding Arsenal<\/strong> to their first Premier League title since 2004 this season has already repaid the club\u2019s long-term faith in him after three successive runner-up finishes.<\/p>\n Now he has the chance to go one step further and cap what could be the greatest season in Arsenal\u2019s history by delivering Europe\u2019s biggest club prize for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have raised different standards now, and now we have to go to the next level,\u201d Arteta<\/strong> said this week.<\/p>\n For a coach shaped by Pep Guardiola during a three-year spell as Manchester City assistant, imitation might have been the obvious route. Many have tried \u2014 and failed \u2014 to reproduce his fellow Spaniard\u2019s blueprint.<\/p>\n Arteta chose a different path.<\/p>\n Arsenal\u2019s rise has been built not just on control, but on pragmatism \u2014 a blend of zonal dominance, high pressing and defensive discipline underpinned by a non-negotiable team ethic.<\/p>\n A side once mocked for vulnerability has been reshaped into one adept at winning ugly when necessary.<\/p>\n READ: What Mikel Arteta must now do at Arsenal to become legendary<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYou have to be ruthless and you have to be consistent\u2026 to create a winning mentality,\u201d Arteta said soon after arriving at Arsenal in 2019. \u201cWithout an identity, you cannot plan and you cannot convince a player to do what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n When Arteta returned to the club he served as a midfielder, those foundations were missing with the drift and discord that marked the final years of Arsene Wenger\u2019s reign deep-rooted.<\/p>\n \u201cI am very lucky that we have an ownership model that understood the picture was ugly,\u201d he told the podcast the Overlap.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best part was changing the culture\u2026 to understand deeply how people feel about working in the organisation, and I wasn\u2019t happy\u2026 I wasn\u2019t impressed at all.\u201d<\/p>\n The reset went beyond tactics. Arteta reshaped the environment at the training ground at London Colney, surrounding players with messages, mantras and symbols.<\/p>\n Unity and accountability became daily expectations, while team bonding helped build a tightly connected group. He even introduced a pet black labrador named \u201cWin\u201d to the training ground, with players sharing responsibility for walking her.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Wenger makes Arsenal v PSG prediction for Champions League final; sends 22-word message to Arteta<\/strong><\/p>\n That \u2018family\u2019 environment now defines Arsenal as much as their football. Attention to detail has translated directly onto the pitch. The appointment of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover in 2021 proved a turning point, turning marginal gains into a decisive weapon.<\/p>\n Arsenal have broken the Premier League record for goals from corners this season, with more than a third of their goals coming from set-pieces, and a string of narrow wins underlining their evolution from nearly-men to champions.<\/p>\n Former Everton manager David Moyes sees that shift clearly. \u201cYou have seen Mikel over a few years, he has got dark arts\u2026 because you are desperate for your team to win,\u201d Moyes said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a joy of a group\u2026 the togetherness, the unity, the love, the respect,\u201d he said after Arsenal sealed their place in the final by beating Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n The road has not been smooth. Early setbacks and near-misses tested the project, but gradually Arsenal moved from contenders to champions, buoyed by what Arteta describes as the \u201cenergy, the positivity and the confidence\u201d around the club.<\/p>\n Now, that belief faces its ultimate test against PSG \u2013 one of Europe\u2019s most formidable sides and a club tied to Arteta\u2019s own past. The Spaniard played for the French side early in his career.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have an amazing opportunity to write new history in our football club,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n From reset to resurgence, Arteta has reshaped Arsenal in his own image \u2013 disciplined, resilient and driven by belief. Now the final step is within reach.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Arsenal \u2018not happy\u2019 with Gyokeres and will \u2018move heaven and earth\u2019 for \u2018a Thierry Henry\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\nArteta still points to the collective<\/h2>\n