Arsenal's first XI under Mikel Arteta and what happened to them next

Take a look at the first starting XI that Mikel Arteta deployed during his tenure as Arsenal manager, when the Gunners played Bournemouth in December 2019

It's been almost four years since Mikel Arteta was appointed Arsenal manager and what a rollercoaster it has been since then.

Arteta replaced Unai Emery in the Emirates Stadium hotseat, winning a trophy in his debut campaign, overseeing the club's record 14th FA Cup success back in 2020. Since then, the Spaniard has also got the Gunners back into the UEFA Champions League, with their six-year hiatus from Europe's elite competition ending later this month.

But what did the first starting XI during Arteta's tenure look like and where are those 11 players now? 

Goalkeeper - Bernd Leno

Leno was one of the first few players signed by Emery after he replaced the legendary Arsene Wenger back in 2018.

The German international proved to be a reliable shot-stopper during his time in north London, establishing himself as Arteta's first-choice keeper, which caused Emiliano Martinez to leave for Aston Villa. But Leno's ball-playing ability didn't quite suit Arteta's philosophy, with current No.1 Aaron Ramsdale replacing him a little over two years ago.

Leno then decided to leave for Fulham last summer, enjoying a hugely impressive debut campaign under Marco Silva's tutelage.

Defenders - Ainsley Maitland-Niles, David Luiz, Sokratis, Bukayo Saka

Right-back Maitland-Niles enjoyed an excellent first few months when Arteta arrived.

The Hale End academy graduate was deployed as an inverted full-back, where he flourished given his ability with both feet and calmness under pressure. However, he eventually fell down the pecking order before loan spells with West Brom, AS Roma and Southampton.

It then became clear that the 26-year-old didn't have a future with the club, leaving on a free transfer to Lyon earlier this summer. Meanwhile, Sokratis started Arteta's first game as Arsenal manager but the Greek centre-half went on to make just 10 more appearances for the club before eventually leaving in January 2021 for Olympiacos.

His time at the Georgios Karaiskakis Football Stadium ended at the end of last season and he is currently without a club. The Gunners' other centre-back against the Cherries was former Chelsea man David Luiz, who played a pivotal role in his side's aforementioned FA Cup success.

But the veteran defender quickly fell out of favour with Arteta, eventually leaving on a free transfer to Flamengo in the summer of 2021. Luiz then won the Copa Libertadores Final with the Brazilian side last year, becoming just the twelfth player to win both the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores in the process.

Midfielders - Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil

The entire midfield trio that started at the Vitality Stadium have since left the club.

Firstly, holding midfielder Lucas Torreira struggled to make a meaningful impression on Arteta, spending the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons out on loan at Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina respectively. The Uruguay international then left north London on a permanent basis a little over 12 months ago, signing for Turkish giants Galatasaray.

Attacking midfielder Ozil was another player that struggled to live up to Arteta's high expectations. Despite starting well under the Spaniard, it quickly became clear that Ozil was not part of the young manager's long-term thinking.

Eventually, the slick playmaker left on a free transfer to Fenerbahce. The former Real Madrid playmaker then had another stint at a Turkish club in the form of Istanbul Basaksehir before retiring earlier this year due to recurrent injuries.

Last but certainly not least was Granit Xhaka. The much-maligned central midfielder became somewhat of an Arsenal cult hero under Arteta's stewardship.

The Swiss captain was one of the first names on the Spaniard's teamsheet, playing a huge role in each of Arteta's seasons in north London before deciding that he wanted a fresh challenge over the summer, joining the Xavi Alonso revolution at Bayer Leverkusen.

Attackers - Reiss Nelson, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette

Other than Saka, winger Reiss Nelson is the only player who started that day that is still employed by Arsenal.

The talented youngster has struggled with a number of injuries during Arteta's time with the club before spending the 2021/22 season on loan in the Netherlands with Feyenoord. Since then, he has become somewhat of a 'super-sub' over the last couple of years, producing some excellent performances from the bench, most notably when he scored the winner during the 3-2 victory against Bournemouth last term.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was one of Europe's most prolific forwards for the first few months of Arteta's time as Gunners boss. But the Gabon international began to decline after his FA Cup heroics in 2020.

In the end, he was stripped of his captaincy duties in December 2021 following a disciplinary breach and he then left for Barcelona shortly after. Aubameyang's time with the Blaugrana was also short but very successful from a goalscoring point of view, opting to join Chelsea after just half a season at Camp Nou.

However, his time at Stamford Bridge was fairly uneventful and he ended up leaving for Ligue 1 side Marseille back in July. The other forward that played against Bournemouth was Alexandre Lacazette, who played a big part during the first few years of Arteta's reign, although his finishing began to decline, netting just four league goals during his final season at the Emirates.

Lacazette then joined his old club Lyon on a free transfer in the summer of 2022, enjoying somewhat of a revival back in Ligue 1 as he scored 31 times across all competitions upon his return to France.