Arteta's Unfinished Business: Eight Managers and Two Clubs Still Standing

Arsenal sit atop the Premier League with an unblemished Champions League record across eight matches. They've booked their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals—somehow past Mansfield, no less—and secured a Carabao Cup final spot. Four players devoid of silverware are suddenly staring down a potential Quadruple.

For Mikel Arteta personally, this season has been about closing old wounds. His first victories over Fabian Hurzeler, Regis Le Bris, Bayern Munich, and Inter at the San Siro have all arrived in 2025/26. Yet a stubborn few remain on his managerial CV marked with either defeats or draws.

The Liverpool Thorn

Arne Slot's Liverpool represent Arteta's most galling unfinished business. Across four Premier League meetings—Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool (October 2024), Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal (May 2025), Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal (August 2025), and Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool (January 2026)—the Gunners have shipped a genuinely alarming five goals. That August defeat at Anfield still smarts, though Arsenal's title hopes may not hinge on avenging it.

The Champions League Ghosts

Simone Inzaghi's Inter dealt Arteta a proper lesson last season in the Champions League group stage, then beat them again in November 2024. The San Siro proved no place for redemption.

Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta held Arsenal to a goalless draw in September 2024—the night David Raya produced that unforgettable double-save. Gasperini later suggested Arsenal wanted to settle for a draw, which rather doesn't sound like them.

The Carrick Conundrum

Michael Carrick has become Arteta's managerial Kryptonite in the most bizarre fashion. He beat Arsenal 3-2 in his third and final game as Manchester United interim boss in December 2021, with United overturning a 1-0 deficit to lead 2-1 before snatching victory. Fast forward to January 2026: Carrick, now in temporary charge again, repeated the exact scoreline. Arsenal have evolved from Champions League bottlers to title contenders in that span, yet the script remains unchanged.

The Rest of the Rogues' Gallery

Rafael Benitez's Everton claimed a 2-1 win in December 2021, just before the Toffees sacked the Spaniard 41 days later. Ruben Selles drew 3-3 with Southampton in April 2023—a chaotic affair that exposed Arsenal's premature title ambitions. Selles has since been dismissed by Hull and Sheffield United and now manages Real Zaragoza, languishing second-bottom in Spain's second tier, so that particular wrong may go unrighted.

Unai Emery's Villarreal proved unconquerable in the Europa League semi-final: a 2-1 first-leg defeat followed by a 0-0 second-leg stalemate in 2021. One simply does not beat Emery in European competition.

The Road Ahead

Arsenal face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League round of 16, with Barcelona lurking as a possible semi-final opponent. Should the draw prove kind, Arteta might yet face one of the few remaining managerial demons or one of just two clubs—Atalanta and Villarreal—that have eluded him.

Among managers with 100+ Premier League appearances, only six top-50 points-per-game performers remain unbeaten by Arteta: Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini, Ronald Koeman, Mark Hughes, Alan Pardew, and Chris Coleman.

In Champions League terms, nine elite operators remain undefeated against him: Zinedine Zidane, Hector Cuper, Massimiliano Allegri, Guus Hiddink, Pellegrini again, Luciano Spalletti, Mancini again, Koeman again, Mircea Lucescu, and Fatih Terim.

As for clubs, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Roma, Bayer Leverkusen, and Ajax have all avoided defeat at Arteta's hands using UEFA's ten-season coefficient rankings.

Forget the Quadruple chatter, then. To truly complete the set, Arteta needs one: a win over Slot's Liverpool. Everything else feels almost academic.