A new book has claimed that Mikel Arteta was only one of at least eight serious options Arsenal examined when they went looking for a successor to Unai Emery in 2019.

The club were in an unusual position after spending 22 years with one manager, then needing a second permanent appointment in less than 18 months. According to The Telegraph’s Sam Dean in Arsenal: The Inside Story of Arsenal’s Rebirth Under Mikel Arteta, then sporting director Edu Gaspar cast a notably wide net.

Arteta, who had never managed before, was viewed at first as sitting “closer to the lower end” of the list. His case rested on a playing career that had taken him to north London and on the experience he had built as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.

Still, Arteta had already been thinking about coaching since the age of 26, when a torn ACL at Everton forced him to look at the game differently. Edu said the former midfielder made a striking impression when he came to his home.

“I spoke to him about the squad, the culture, the strategy and everything that I had thought in my six months inside the club,” Edu told Dean. “And Mikel was extremely prepared for the conversation. He was prepared to such a level that it felt like he was inside the club already. He presented and spoke about everything. Everything.

“It was extremely impressive, the way he presented his strategy, the way he was seeing the club and also the excitement he had to start the project. I was like: ‘Wow, this guy is prepared—to the next level.’”

The report also says Mauricio Pochettino entered “serious conversations” shortly after leaving Tottenham Hotspur, while Carlo Ancelotti was available before later taking the Everton job and then returning to Real Madrid, where he won more major honours. Patrick Vieira, who already had managerial experience, was another name considered before eventually landing Premier League work elsewhere.

Roberto Martínez, then with Belgium, and Vítor Pereira, who was coaching in China, were also among the broader search. Julian Nagelsmann was highly regarded at the time, while Massimiliano Allegri featured in the final part of the process, revealing his distance from modern data tools in an interview the day before Arteta was officially appointed.

Arsenal avoided a third straight draw at the City Ground by grinding out a 1-0 win over a depleted Nottingham Forest side, with Noni Madueke’s deflected effort proving the difference.

The game was short on fluency for long spells. Forest threatened on the break whenever Arsenal lost rhythm in possession, and after a brighter start to the second half, the hosts looked the more likely to find a breakthrough. Yet Mikel Arteta’s team stayed intact, and they found the one moment that mattered with 10 minutes left.

Madueke drove in from the left and sent a shot goalward that took a double deflection off Forest defenders before beating Matz Sels, who had been largely untroubled before that point. Forest still created enough late pressure to leave Arsenal uneasy, but Liam Delap and Chris Wood were both denied by excellent recovery defending as the visitors protected their lead.

The result lifted the champions back above Brighton & Hove Albion and into second place, three points behind Manchester City at the top.

Arsenal’s first-half issues were once again obvious. Their possession brought little reward, and Forest’s 5-4-1 block made life difficult for Arsenal’s attacking players. Excluding the Carabao Cup third-round win at Ipswich Town, they have now failed to score before half-time in each of their previous six matches.

That sluggish opening has become a recurring pattern this season, and it continues to raise questions about the attack. Arsenal remain difficult to beat and strong without the ball, but they are still relying on short bursts rather than sustained control in the final third.

Madueke’s winner ensured the point was theirs, but the broader picture remains that Arsenal continue to work hard to mask their summer oversight of not signing another left winger. If they are to achieve all they want this season, the need for a winter addition in attack is becoming clearer.

Arsenal are understood to be preparing for at least 60 redundancies among off-field staff, according to multiple reports, coming only weeks after handing Mikel Arteta the Premier League’s biggest manager salary.

The Telegraph reported that the cuts are imminent, although the specific roles affected have not been disclosed. The timing has drawn criticism, particularly with Arteta’s new contract fresh in the background and Declan Rice also nearing a new deal that could see his pay rise to more than £350,000 a week.

That kind of spending stands in stark contrast to the people working behind the scenes. Arsenal’s revenue rose by £319 million between 2022 and 2025, yet the club’s latest decisions have prompted scrutiny over what those figures mean in practice and who ultimately bears the cost.

The club’s stated values include “championing each other,” “acting for a winning culture” and “doing the right thing (even when no one is looking).” Against that backdrop, the removal of 60 members of staff has been met with obvious unease, whatever explanation the club may later offer.

At the same time, Arsenal remain a business as well as a football club, and the accounts underline that reality. Despite strong feelings on the pitch, the club has made a loss for seven straight years, including in 2024–25, when record revenues of £691 million were reported.

Costs have also continued to climb. Operating expenses increased from £148 million to £201 million across the 2024–25 season, and the next set of accounts may show another rise when they are eventually published. For now, the debate around Arsenal is less about results and more about the balance between ambition, finance and responsibility.