At that point Arteta had been in his post at Arsenal for just one year and there were many so-called supporters who were demanding managerial change. Thankfully they and their media maters were not listened to.
So while the media has constantly spoken of this era being the era of Liverpool and Manchester City, in fact the most dramatic change of all has come with Newcastle United and its Saudi money, and Arsenal with its appointment of an ex-captain who learned about management at Manchester City.
Indeed if you see any film of Arteta at games during his time in Manchester it is most likely to be of him sitting pitchside with pen and clipboard making notes. I’ve often thought it would be interesting to know what he was noting, but whatever it was it seemed to be helpful to the club.
Arteta joined the Manchester City coaching staff on 26 February 2017 and was reported as “the first member of the new-look coaching staff to be officially announced” with the title of Assistant Coach, It was his first coaching position.
Eddie Howe at Newcastle has had a different managerial career. From 2008-2011 he managed Bournemouth. They had just been relegated from League One to League Two, and in those years he took them back to League One.
Burnley were a Championship side when Howe joined, and in his one season they finished in mid-table, a little worse off than the season before he arrived.
Howe has always maintained that he left Burnley due to the death of his mother. He had started and ended his playing career with Bournemouth playing 270 games for them. As a manager he took them from League One to the Premier League before joining Newcastle this summer.
Thus neither of these managers has been high-profile until this season, but both have shown themselves capable of re-energising languishing clubs.
Newcastle won the second tier of English football in 2010 and 2017, and prior to that won the Intertoto Cup in 2007. Prior to that they won the Fairs Cup in 1969, and before that the 2nd Division in 1965, but their last serious spell of trophy winning was three FA Cups between 1951 and 1955 when they were a first division team. They last won the top division in 1927.
But Newcastle supporters seem always to have believed that their club was a major force in football that was simply going through a difficult spell. A bit like Arsenal in the 1960s, but rather than it lasting a decade it lasted a century.
Yet it is interesting to look back to the league table in December 2020, just over two years ago and see how the world of the top division has changed. I’ve added today’s league position as an extra column on the right.
| Today |
| 1 |
Liverpool |
14 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
36 |
19 |
17 |
31 |
6th |
| 2 |
Leicester City |
14 |
9 |
0 |
5 |
26 |
17 |
9 |
27 |
13th |
| 3 |
Manchester United |
13 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
28 |
21 |
7 |
26 |
4th |
| 4 |
Everton |
14 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
25 |
19 |
6 |
26 |
16th |
| 5 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
14 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
25 |
14 |
11 |
25 |
5th |
| 6 |
Southampton |
14 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
25 |
19 |
6 |
24 |
20th |
| 7 |
Manchester City |
13 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
19 |
12 |
7 |
23 |
2nd |
| 8 |
Chelsea |
13 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
26 |
14 |
12 |
22 |
9th |
| 9 |
Aston Villa |
12 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
24 |
13 |
11 |
22 |
12th |
| 10 |
West Ham United |
13 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
21 |
16 |
5 |
21 |
17th |
| 11 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
13 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
13 |
17 |
-4 |
20 |
19th |
| 12 |
Newcastle United |
13 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
17 |
22 |
-5 |
18 |
3rd |
| 13 |
Crystal Palace |
14 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
19 |
25 |
-6 |
18 |
11th |
| 14 |
Leeds United |
14 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
24 |
30 |
-6 |
17 |
14th |
| 15 |
Arsenal |
14 |
4 |
2 |
8 |
12 |
18 |
-6 |
14 |
1st |
| 16 |
Brighton and Hove Albion |
14 |
2 |
6 |
6 |
16 |
22 |
-6 |
12 |
10th |
| 17 |
Fulham |
14 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
23 |
-10 |
10 |
8th |
| 18 |
Burnley |
12 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
18 |
-12 |
10 |
C1 |
| 19 |
West Bromwich Albion |
14 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
10 |
29 |
-19 |
7 |
C9 |
| 20 |
Sheffield United |
14 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
8 |
25 |
-17 |
2 |
C2 |
