Head coach or manager. The distinction appears cosmetic but, in the modern Premier League, it marks a clear divide in power and influence.
At present, 14 clubs operate with a head coach model. Just six still use the term ‘manager’ – Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Unai Emery (Aston Villa), Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace), David Moyes (Everton), Daniel Farke (Leeds) and Pep Guardiola (Manchester City).
Arteta, at 43, is comfortably its youngest member, followed by 49-year-old Farke. It makes his shaping of Arsenal even more remarkable, powered by an intensity which seemingly grips whoever find themselves in his path.
What Arteta has built in north London is not just a team that has finished as league runners-up in three consecutive seasons, from a starting point of 10th place. It is a structure and, crucially, a clarity of authority that many of Arsenal’s rivals have spent years searching for while being beset by public power struggles.
Look at the civil wars at Manchester United and Chelsea, which ended up costing Ruben Amorim and Enzo Maresca their jobs.
There is little doubt over who holds the keys at Arsenal. And Arteta’s influence stretches well beyond the touchline. In several key areas, his input is not just welcomed but expected; it’s a level of involvement that is rare in the league’s increasingly executive-led models.
Mikel Arteta is Arsenal’s manager, not their head coach – and has a level of influence over his club that is almost unique in the Premier League
Arteta has a key say on how often players train and to what intensity, and on recruitment too
Daily Mail Sport understands that in departments including nutrition and sports science, staff will routinely present strategies directly to Arteta. He listens, and challenges. What he likes, stays. What he doesn’t is adjusted. The work is collaborative, but the feedback loop is clear.
This is particularly significant when it comes to matters such as player workload. Arteta takes on board the feedback from the sports science department, for example, but has a key say on how often players train and to what intensity.
Recruitment follows a similar pattern. Arsenal’s scouting network identifies potential targets and presents them to Arteta, who has significant influence over which profiles progress before they reach sporting director Andrea Berta.
This is different to clubs with a head coach, where departments often operate independently and report upwards rather than to the coach, who is left to do what he can with the tools afforded him. The head coach is therefore a key voice but not the driving decision-maker in these models.
Yet Arteta – whose job title was changed from head coach to manager six months after he was hired in December 2019, following the FA Cup win that remains his lone trophy – has consistently downplayed the importance of labels.
‘It was different at the time when they proposed to change the role, and what they thought about the areas that I could help, probably more than they expected at the beginning,’ he said when Daily Mail Sport asked him about the difference in titles.
‘I never enforced to say, “I want this player, it’s finito, it is my decision”. I think the best decisions are always when people can discuss them, can reflect on the reasons why we have to do what we have to do, agree to that and then we make a decision. Whether it is the right one or the wrong one, stick by it.’
That balance reflects why the Gunners have avoided the very public dysfunction that has engulfed several other elite clubs. In the hours and days before their exits, Maresca and Amorim lifted the curtain, if only slightly.
Arteta’s intensity and obsessive attention to detail can take some getting used to for new players, but is part of why he has excelled in management
‘I never say, “I want this player, it’s finito, it is my decision”,’ says Arteta. ‘I think the best decisions are always when people can discuss them’
Maresca spoke cryptically about ‘many people’ making the 48 hours before Chelsea’s victory over Everton on December 13 the worst of his tenure. Amorim was blunter after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Leeds, saying: ‘I just want to say I came here to be the manager, not to be the coach. I was really clear on that.’ Both held the title of head coach and craved more control over club matters.
It’s a different story at Arsenal. After Arteta was approached by club executives about changing his title, he revealed: ‘It was in my house and they came to me and started to propose the idea of what I thought and the way they wanted to structure the club.
‘That was after probably five, six months in the job. This is where I think I can help, this is my vision, this is what I will do, this is how I see this project. I presented it and from there we started all together to add value to those ideas.’
It was a show of faith, but also a calculated one. The Gunners were searching for coherence after years of drift. What they offered Arteta was not just a title upgrade, but the authority to shape the club in his image. And now, sitting top of the Premier League and Champions League, it has clearly paid off.
A source told Daily Mail Sport that Arteta’s intensity, obsessive attention to detail and rigid standards can take some getting used to for new or young players, but ultimately is part of why he has excelled in management.
The manager’s power at Arsenal is significant, but not absolute. It’s sustained by alignment with the ownership. Stan Kroenke remains a distant figure, but Josh Kroenke’s proximity has been critical.
He is in touch with Arteta occasionally throughout the season, and Arteta points to that clarity.
He said: ‘The leader is the ownership of Stan and Josh, and Josh is very close with very clear alignment to all of us of what he wants to do, how he wants to achieve it and creates that space for everybody. I think it’s very easy to work like this.’
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke (left), who also owns the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Nuggets, is a distant figure at the club
But his son Josh (left) is far more hands-on. There is a ‘clear alignment of what Josh wants to do and how he wants to achieve it’ according to Arteta
That closeness is reflected in Arteta joining the club’s executive group, including Berta, CEO Richard Garlick and director of football operations James King, in an annual winter meeting with Josh before the summer transfer window.
The one in November 2024 was held in the United States, just days after the Gunners’ Champions League trip to Inter Milan.
In a league where confusion over who is really in charge continues to derail Big Six clubs with vast resources, Arsenal’s clarity stands out.
Everyone knows where decisions land – and who ultimately shapes them. Arteta is very much at the wheel.