Arsenal have truly ushered in a new era at the club of late. They broke a two decades-plus drought by lifting the Premier League last season, and have followed it up by thrashing Manchester City 3-0 in the FA Community Shield to begin the 2026/27 season campaign.
The transformation from fighting for the top four to dominating England has largely been instigated by Mikel Arteta who took over as Gunners’ manager in 2019.
However, like the famous saying from the Matrix goes, some things change and some things never do.
Success has not stopped the Spaniard from further evolving his reputation as one of the cringiest spokesmen in the business. Arteta over his career has shown a ridiculous tendency to utter nonsensical remarks, and he did not wait long to continue the tradition even before 26/27 season begins.
His choice of medium this time around was a pre-season interview with football media house Men in Blazers. Arteta was in conversation with Mike Bennett, who hosts the popular TV program alongside Michael Davies.
Bennett began the conversation by addressing Arteta’s Arsenal as the Premier League defending champions. Normally, a factual sentence such as that would quietly slip under the radar.
But not under Arteta’s watch. The 44-year-old immediately interrupted Bennet with a contradiction, stating Arsenal would be “attacking another Premier League”.
MIKEL ARTETA: WE AREN'T THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS, WE'RE THE ATTACKING PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 🏆
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) August 18, 2026
It's Arsenal's title to lose now 👀 pic.twitter.com/sjtpPyuXIO
Bennet was unsurprisingly completely thrown off by the remark and burst into a fit of laughter, However, Arteta kept going on to justify his statement.
The Spaniard stated his club had set the foundation with their maiden triumph under his tutelage last year. However, there are much bigger things the group wants to achieve, hence the term “attacking champions”.
However, that was not all. The conversation between Arteta and Bennett at one point veered towards Arsenal’s club dog named “Win” and how has success has changed him.
Unsusprisingly, the very idea of the name itself was an Arteta classic. He had brought the chocolate labrador to the organization last year to uplift the mood in the dressing room and had a predictably embarrassing reason behind the moniker.
But as Arteta told Bennet during the interview, that was about to change. The Spaniard claimed it was time to change the moniker to Won or even more awkwardly, Win Again since the club had already won once.
they even changed win’s name pic.twitter.com/qjhWOVeYXO
— ola ! (@bIuezoya) August 18, 2026
The fact that Arteta believed he was saying something hilarious as evidenced by the huge smirk on his face only made the situation worse. Thankfully for him, it was still enough to break down Bennett who devolved into another unctrollable fit of laughter.
By this point, fans are pretty much used to such Arteta instincts. Afterall, who can forget the iconic lightbulb speech that had been featured in Amazon’s “All or Nothing” documentary released in 2022.
Similarly, in 2024 Arteta invited professional pickpockets to steal from his players at dinner. Apparently, he intended it as a lesson to keep players alert at all times.
Other props Arteta has used include a 150-year-old olive tree to foster “nurture” in the team, and blaring speakers at the Emirates to simulate the atmosphere of rival stadiums during training.
Nevertheless, north Londoners surely won’t mind such comments as long as Arteta keeps the trophy coming. The first step towards retaining their Prem crown is slated for Friday, when they take on Coventry City at home.
