Mikel Arteta beats two ex-Premier League bosses to FIFA nomination despite trophy drought

Mikel Arteta has been nominated for FIFA's Best Coach award beating two ex-Premier League bosses despite not winning his respective league title like they did

Earlier this month Mikel Arteta was nominated for FIFA’s The Best awards for Men’s Coach. The Arsenal boss is still chasing his dream of winning the Premier League with the Gunners and currently sits top of the table as favourites for the title.

However, interestingly, of all seven nominees, Arteta managed to earn the inclusion without having won silverware like the other six coaches. Javier Aguerre won the Gold Cup with Mexico, PSG manager Luis Enrique picked up the UEFA Champions League, Coupe de France and Ligue 1 titles, and Arne Slot, of course, won the Premier League with Liverpool.

Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca won the first FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Conference League, Hansi Flick won the Spanish Supercopa, Copa del Rey and La Liga with Barcelona, and Roberto Martinez won the European Nations League with Portugal. Arteta, however, finished second in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and UEFA Champions League.

His nomination meant he also beat other managers who had won titles. Two former Premier League bosses, Antonio Conte and Vincent Kompany, who won Serie A and the Bundesliga with Napoli and Bayern Munich, respectively.

Eddie Howe and Oliver Glasner’s historic domestic cup victories with Newcastle and Crystal Palace were also overlooked in favour of the Arsenal boss. The question, therefore, is why?

In essence, the answer is quite simple: Arteta does indeed deserve to be recognised for his achievements among the best coaches while in charge of a side like Arsenal. Before their summer spend on eight new players, he reached those stages of the aforementioned competitions while dealing with 27 separate injuries costing him key players throughout the season.

He took his Gunners side to the Bernabeu to run out 5-1 winners on aggregate. The then holders of the Champions League, Real Madrid, were roundly beaten by Arteta’s side as he outthought legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Under the circumstances, despite being further from the Premier League title than his side were in 2023/24, it was arguably his most impressive coaching achievement under the circumstances.

Arsenal had further nominations with Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly, Mariona Caldentey and Leah Williamson selected from the women’s team. Their coach, Renee Slegers, who, with the help of her four stars, won the women’s UEFA Champions League, while David Raya was nominated among the best goalkeepers, too.

Fans can vote for their chosen winners here.