Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta marked his 250th Premier League game in charge of the club with a 1-0 away victory over Aston Villa on Monday.
Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal in the 59th minute as the Gunners maintained their perfect start to the new Premier League season with two wins from two matches.
According to BBC Sport, Arteta is now among the top 10 managers to have overseen at least 250 Premier League matches at a single club.
The Spaniard, who also played for Arsenal during his career, has recorded 151 wins, 48 draws and 51 defeats, giving him a 60.4 per cent win rate.
Only three managers rank above him in win percentage: former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola with 70.8 per cent, Manchester United legend Alex Ferguson with 65.2 per cent, and former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with 62.6 per cent.
Arteta received a warm reception from Arsenal supporters at Villa Park, with travelling fans chanting his name after the final whistle.
Reflecting on the milestone, Arteta said he was grateful for the continued support from the club’s supporters.
“I’m extremely grateful. It starts to be a big number! So I’m really grateful for all the support, the love that I feel from all of them, and yeah, really great to celebrate with a win,” he said.
The Arsenal boss also reflected on the victory at Villa Park, where his side suffered a late defeat last season.
Describing Monday’s result as a collective effort, Arteta said he was “extremely happy” with the performance.
“It’s a really tough place to come and win; when we came here last year, we lost with the last kick of the game. I think we still had that in our tummies,” he said.
“I would define it as a squad victory – I think everybody contributed in a really great way. We’ve been wanting that need in the final third to find the openings and to be more clinical and finish more actions. I’m really pleased because that’s exactly what we need.”
Arteta also praised his players for their response to the challenge posed by Villa.
“I’m very proud, because these guys won the Europa League again. They have a really good stadium where they can create momentum and shift and change the feelings immediately, and we did it, and I think it’s a big win,” he said.
The victory extended Arsenal’s impressive record in their opening away league fixtures, with the Gunners now having won their first away league match in each of the last five seasons.
For Aston Villa, the defeat compounded their difficult start to the campaign. Unai Emery’s side are yet to register a shot on target in the Premier League this season.
