Elliot MorganMikel Arteta wakes up around 5.30 a.m. every day, somewhere in north London, dreaming about winning. If he hasn’t slept well, it’s typically because he hasn’t figured out how to win – what the squad lineup should be for the next game, or how to break down an opponent. When he arrives at his glassy but unglamorous office, which overlooks the Arsenal training pitches at London Colney, he sits at his desk and resolves to win; if a solution does not emerge, he writes or goes on a walk to help organize his ideas. 

Arteta has been obsessed with winning football games since he was a boy, racing around homemade beach pitches in San Sebastian that changed shape depending on the tide. Throughout his playing career and now as a manager, the question has always been, “How are we going to win?” When he retires, he’ll probably still be thinking about it. 

Win, Arsenal’s dog, greets me in the corridor outside Arteta’s office on a beautiful July afternoon at the club’s training grounds. Arteta brought in Win, a chocolate brown labrador with a dopey smile, earlier this year to assist Arsenal do just that. “What are we here for?” “We’re here to win, because we all enjoy winning,” Arteta says with a Ted Lasso smile. “It had to be Win.”

Top, Gabriela Hearst.

 Elliot Morgan

Arteta is dressed in the full Arsenal training tracksuit, replete with socks that appear to have been ironed or unworn, and possesses the Disney prince’s strong jaw and powerful hairline. The 41-year-old recently returned from a family vacation in Greece, where he played tennis and tried not to check his phone too frequently. However, during the second week of the trip, the transfer market had grown impatient. His children are now questioning why he wasn’t buying this player. Why didn’t he choose that one in the game?

In the time that we talk Arteta says some variation of the word “win” 61 times, but we are here, at least in part, to talk about losing. It is the final few days before the Arsenal men’s squad departs for pre-season games in Germany and America. The focus will then shift from last season to this one, but first, some reflection is in order.