Quick Reads
Planet Football
26th September 2020
Mikel Arteta has given Arsenal a new lease of life since replacing Unai Emery as manager in December 2019.
Since taking over at Arsenal, Arteta has won the FA Cup and Community Shield and has the best win ratio for any Gunners manager to take charge of 10 or more games.
That record has already impressed plenty of his peers, and we’ve taken a look at times Arteta has been praised by other managers.
Jurgen Klopp
“He’s shown in a short period of time that he’s an exceptional manager. He’s changed the structure, got balance between defence/offence,” Klopp said ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal in September.
They have good organisation, still with creative freedom. He’s changed the mood at the club.”
Jose Mourinho
“I like him very, very much. I hope everything goes well for him in his career but in this moment he is in a rival club, a club that fights for the same thing we fight – a European position – and I cannot wish him good in this position,” Mourinho told BT Sport ahead of the north London derby in July.
READ: Six players Mikel Arteta has laid down the law to since joining Arsenal
Brendan Rodgers
“Mikel has done very well, he has gone into a club with huge expectation which he knows. He has gone in on his first job and how he has dealt with it has been outstanding,” Rodgers told the Daily Star back in July.
“You can see the style and it’s not an easy style to implement, especially at a club wanting to challenge straight away.”
Pep Guardiola
“They have something special already, they have a team spirit Mikel has created,” Guardiola said in July.
“I see from the side how they celebrate goals, how they fight for every ball. They have begun to create something special for the club. We approach Arsenal like we do the other ones.
“Arsenal were one of the elite clubs in English football for the last 20, 30 years. I am pretty sure he is the right person to take them back to the position they were.”
Roy Hodgson
“I don’t think he needs any advice from me, or any other manager He has been in the game a long time as a top player, and as a coach at one of the top clubs in the country, indeed the top club in the country over the last couple of years,” Hodgson told Football.London in January.
“I am sure he knows what he needs to do and the task he has in front of him. I am pretty sure he knows how he wants to confront that task, and I can only wish him well in his career, and I look forward to seeing him tomorrow, and I can easily say nice things about him too.”
READ: How Mikel Arteta’s record vs the big six at Arsenal compares to Unai Emery’s
Patrick Vieira
“When you’re a Gunner, you’re always a Gunner, so I’m watching them all the time, I watch their games,” Vieira told Ian Wright in an interview for Adidas in May.
“What is really interesting with Arteta is that he brings the energy back and it looks like they are playing for the club, but for the manager as well, and I think that is really important.”
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