Arteta aiming to mark Arsenal anniversary with win over 'remarkable' Moyes

Mikel Arteta will celebrate six years as Arsenal's manager when the Premier League leaders visit Everton this Saturday, and he is hoping to mark the occasion with a win. 

Arteta replaced Unai Emery in 2019 and has gone on to lift an FA Cup and two Community Shields, while also coming close to ending the Gunners' wait for the top-flight title. 

The Spaniard has overseen 226 Premier League matches in that time, winning 134 of those games (D44 L48), averaging a win percentage of 59.3%. 

Arsenal arrive on Merseyside with a two-point lead over Manchester City in the top flight, having edged past bottom-of-the-table Wolves 2-1 in their last league encounter. 

Many see this as Arsenal's best chance of ending their over 20-year wait for Premier League glory, though recent results have seen their lead at the summit reduced. 

The Opta supercomputer predicts Arsenal to finish top of the pile in 65.3% of its season simulations, but Arteta was in a reflective mood when asked about his time so far with the club, suggesting that the team's success was not down to him, but the players themselves.

"One man cannot really change anything, especially when you talk about the size of the issue," Arteta told reporters.

"You have to have a lot of very good and committed people around you with the same vision, work ethic and passion. I am very lucky because I have had that.

"At the end, you need a lot of support and everyone who makes decisions alongside you. But the most important one is the players.

"The players have to buy into what you say and do. I feel very lucky because those players give you 100% in the direction you want every single day."

This weekend's clash will not just see Arsenal play at Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time, but also a reunion between Arteta and Everton boss David Moyes. 

Arteta made 209 appearances in all competitions under Moyes during their time together at Everton between 2005 and 2011. 

The two managers have squared off 10 times in the Premier League, with Arteta winning six of those meetings (D3 L1), and the Arsenal boss is looking forward to a reunion with the Scotsman. 

"That is a word I would use: gratitude and admiration. I think he taught me a lot. The integrity that the game requires at any cost. He is a remarkable man," Arteta said.

"I think the way he manages the club, the people, his players are outstanding. I am very grateful for everything he did for me, for Everton as well.

"In general, for English football as well, because he has been an example of how to behave in good and difficult moments.

"That is normally when you see what people are, and I think David is something extraordinary."

Everton are, however, winless in their last five Premier League games against Arsenal (D2 L3), having won four of their five against them before this (L1).

But Arteta acknowledged the importance of his team's festive fixtures, with league games against Brighton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth to come, all with an EFL Cup quarter-final tie against Crystal Palace next Tuesday. 

"That is different; it hits you with big demands and a lot of games," Arteta added. 

"Everything happens in your professional and personal life as well, because they are special days for everybody.

"I see it as an opportunity. We can play when people are on holiday, a lot of families. The atmosphere that is created in the stadium is unique and that is what we have to enjoy."