Mikel Arteta - 'Bullying' Blues' bosses since 2022

The latest 1-0 victory against Chelsea in the return leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals extended Arsenal's unbeaten run against the Blues to 10 games (7 wins and 3 draws). The Gunners last time lost to their city rivals in August 2021 (2-0), when Romelu Lukaku and Reece James sealed the deal for the Stamford Bridge crew.

At the same time, the ten-game undefeated streak is Mikel Arteta's longest against a single club (tied with Wolverhampton), as the Spaniard showed he knew how to get the better of Chelsea, and especially their managers.

Namely, Arsenal boss hasn't been beaten by any of the last five Blues' head coaches!

The last one to defeat him was Thomas Tuchel in the aforementioned clash four and a half years ago, while the German's five successors were completely dominated by Arteta's crew.

The Spaniard served vengeance to the current England manager in April 2022, and in the next nine games against Chelsea, faced five different coaches - Graham Potter, Frank Lampard, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca, and Liam Rosenior, of which only the Argentinian (once) and the Italian (twice) managed to salvage draws and avoid defeats.

Arsenal defeated Chelsea, but Rosenior - finally! - broke their set-piece cheat code

Now, many would argue that the Blues' bosses didn't have continuity in the dugout due to frequent changes - after all, having six different managers in five years isn't normal - and it's true, but credit has to be given where it's due.

Arteta simply knows how to handle Chelsea no matter who sits on their bench, and it's admirable. However, all those triumphs won't mean a thing to the Gunners fans if the 43-year-old and his men don't seize a historic chance and win the Premier League for the first time since 2004.