What must Mikel Arteta achieve at Arsenal to surpass Jurgen Klopp's Premier League legacy?
Jurgen Klopp is one of the best managers in Premier League history. He grabbed Liverpool by the scruff of the neck when the club looked rock bottom and dragged them to both domestic and European success. In fact, it was Liverpool who handed Liverpool their first Premier League trophy.
At this stage, Klopp sits above Mikel Arteta in the all-time manager rankings throughout Premier League history. However, Arteta is best placed to surpass his legacy, at least in the Premier League.
How Mikel Arteta's Arsenal record compares with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp won Liverpool's first Premier League trophy and ended his career at Anfield having won the Premier League once. Alongside that, he won the most prestigious trophy in club football, the Champions League, once. He also won the FA Cup and two EFL Cups.
Mikel Arteta has already matched Jurgen Klopp's Premier League tally with one. He has actually surpassed Klopp's FA Cup tally with two, but unlike Klopp, Arteta has not won the Champions League or the EFL Cup.
Klopp has managed more Premier League games (334) than Arteta (258), and Klopp has a higher win rate in the Premier League (62.6%) than Arteta (61.2%).
| Stat | Jurgen Klopp | Mikel Arteta |
|---|---|---|
| Premier League games | 334 🏅 | 258 |
| Premier League wins | 209 🏅 | 158 |
| Premier League win percentage | 62.6% 🏅 | 61.2% |
| Premier League titles | 1 | 1 |
| Champions League titles | 1 🏅 | 0 |
| FA Cups | 1 | 2 🏅 |
| EFL Cups | 2 🏅 | 0 |
Arteta could match Klopp's Premier League legacy this season
This season, Mikel Arteta is the favourite to win the Premier League. This would already give him something that Jurgen Klopp never had - back-to-back Premier League trophies. It would also, obviously, see him climb above Klopp in the all-time Premier League trophies won record.
Klopp was in heavy competition with Pep Guardiola's Man City throughout his Liverpool tenure, but Arteta can say the same. Both Arteta and Klopp beat Guardiola's Man City once, so it's a meaningless argument.
Arteta may need Champions League glory to surpass Klopp
It would take winning the Premier League and the Champions League to top Jurgen Klopp's overall record. If Arsenal do the double and win the Champions League for the first time this season, then Arteta will comfortably have a better legacy than Klopp. However, it's a very big 'if.'
It is Klopp's Champions League success that differentiates him from Mikel Arteta. If Arteta wins the Premier League this season, but doesn't win the Champions League, Klopp still has the better overall record. Two Premier Leagues doesn't match up to one Premier League and one Champions League.
The goal for Arteta this season will be to retain the Premier League and the Champions League. Every single season under Arteta, Arsenal have improved, and this would be a stark improvement from last season's memorable campaign.
What would it take for Arteta to overtake Klopp?
Domestically, Arteta just needs to win the Premier League and he would have a better league legacy than Klopp. In Europe, he needs to do what Arsenal have never done to this point: win the Champions League.
No matter which way you look at it, for Arteta to be this close to Klopp in such a short amount of time is enough of a compliment to the Arsenal legend.
