The PFA’s tribute to Mikel Arteta’s Premier League title win with Arsenal highlights a historical oversight.
Arteta’s achievement is significant, especially as it marks the end of Arsenal’s 22-year wait for a league title.
The issue arose when a now-deleted claim from the PFA overlooked a former Manchester City manager who had previously accomplished the same milestone.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
PFA’s Mikel Arteta Claim Corrected Following Arsenal’s Premier League Victory
The PFA issued a now-deleted post on X after Mikel Arteta led Arsenal to the Premier League title, but soccer fans quickly identified a factual error.
The deleted post stated, “The first former Premier League player to win the Premier League as a manager. Congratulations Mikel Arteta.”
The message was clear; Arteta played for Everton and Arsenal in the Premier League before becoming the manager who returned the Gunners to the summit.
Although Arteta’s title win is special, it does not align with the PFA’s claim. Fans were quick to remind the account that Roberto Mancini had previously achieved this record.
Mancini played for Leicester City in 2001, making four Premier League appearances during a brief loan before fully transitioning into management.
Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City Title Undermines PFA’s Mikel Arteta Post
The correction is not just a minor detail; Mancini’s link to the Premier League renders the PFA’s wording inaccurate.
Mancini later managed Manchester City to the 2011-12 Premier League title, culminating in the memorable Sergio Aguero season that ended the club’s 44-year wait for a top-flight championship.
This means Mancini was already a former Premier League player who won the competition as a manager a full 14 years before Arteta’s achievement with Arsenal.
Fans criticized the PFA for this blunder, expected from an organization tasked with knowing the history of the Premier League. Many users shared screenshots of the deleted post, while others simply highlighted Mancini’s Leicester connection.
Despite the oversight, Arteta has a more extensive Premier League playing history than Mancini, with 284 appearances for Everton and Arsenal. He also served as Arsenal’s captain and became the manager who ended one of the league’s longest title droughts.