Arsenal: Six years of Mikel Arteta come full circle as Gunners wary of repeating history | OneFootball

Plenty has changed since Spaniard began managerial tenure at Goodison Park in 2019

It was this weekend six years ago that Mikel Arteta shuffled along the row to take his seat in the Goodison Park stands.

Only Bukayo Saka, who started at left-back that day, and Gabriel Martinelli remain at the club from those who made that trip to Goodison Park.

Mikel Arteta watches Everton vs Arsenal from the stands the day after signing as the club’s head coach

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That 0-0 draw was also just the third clean sheet Arsenal had managed in 18 Premier League matches. This season, they needed four games to reach that mark.

The squad depth is one of the obvious differences when looking at the difference in the tools at Arteta's disposal.

Arsenal travel back to Everton tonight with Gabriel, Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White all injured, and yet they can still field a back four of Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori.

Six years ago, it was Konstantinos Mavropanos and Shkodran Mustafi on the bench as cover for David Luiz and Calum Chambers.

That stark contrast is a key reason why expectations on Arteta are higher now than at any previous point of his Arsenal tenure.

Arsenal’s current squad is a vast improvement on that which he inherited from Unai Emery

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Thierry Henry said this week that Arsenal "must" win the title this season, comments that were put to Arteta on Friday.

“That’s fine," he responded.

"We are going to do absolutely the best from each other’s capacity to achieve that, that’s for sure. I guarantee you that.”

The latest bid for Premier League glory continues at a ground that offers the chance of a much-needed clean slate for Arsenal.

Arteta spent six years at Everton as a player but he rarely enjoyed his returns to Goodison Park.

As Arsenal boss he won only once in five visits, that coming in 2023 when Leandro Trossard earned the Gunners a narrow 1-0 victory.

Mikel Arteta is not expected to miss Goodison Park

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Everton's farewell last season to Goodison Park, then, will not have been one that upset Arteta too much. He will be hoping the Hill Dickinson Stadium proves to be a much happier hunting ground.

The early signs are that it could well be. Tottenham came away with a 3-0 win earlier this season and Newcastle ran out 4-1 winners. West Ham and Aston Villa both picked up a point too.

"We're going to have to go and witness how it looks like on Saturday night," Arteta said.

"It is going to be different to the previous one. You cannot expect to have the same one. But I think it will bring some good and positive things as well, I imagine."

A sloppy display against Wolves last weekend should serve as a wake-up call, who go into the weekend with only a two-point advantage over an ominous Manchester City.

Asked what he would like for Christmas this year, Arteta said: "Win, win, win, win, win." If he get his wish against Everton, Arsenal will sit top of the table on Christmas Day.

Six years ago that would have been too much for even Arteta's most ambitious wishlist. Now it will be viewed as little more than a stepping stone.