Mikel Arteta says he’s looking forward to locking horns with Luis Enrique, someone whose path he first crossed in 1997 while in Barcelona’s La Masia academy.
Enrique was at the heart of Louis van Gaal’s double-winning side as the 15-year-old Arteta settled into his new surroundings following his move from San Sebastian and the pair would later train together before the younger man earned a season-long loan move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2001.
By the time Arteta returned to Spain, after two years with Rangers, Enrique had hung up his boots and moved to Australia to learn to surf. He returned to the Nou Camp in 2008 where he became head coach of the B side and later, after spells with AS Roma and Celta Vigo, became the main man in the dugout as Barcelona sought stability following the exit of Tata Martino.
He ended his three years in charge with a scarcely believable record of nine trophies (a Club World Cup, a Champions League, two Spanish Super Cups, two league titles and three Copa del Rey trophies) from a possible thirteen.
Last summer’s move to the French capital came after two stints in charge of Spain – his involvement with the national team was punctuated by the tragic death of his daughter – and he subsequently led PSG to a domestic treble in his first season.
Asked about his relationship with Enrique, Arteta said: “[I have] a smile on my face. I’m a huge admirer of him. An unbelievable personality, huge character, huge energy, always very supportive with young players.
“What I love about him is wherever he’s been, as a player or a manager, his fingerprints are all over the place. You can sense it’s his team the way his players behave, the way they want to attack and dominate games. The spirit, the energy they have, he has this unbelievable power with all the clubs he’s been at, with the Spain national team.
“And then his approach to life, to his profession – it’s something to really look at and I learnt a lot of things from him.”
It’s understood that Enrique rules with an iron fist at the Parc des Princes, evidenced by suggestions that star striker Ousmane Dembele has been dropped from the squad for tomorrow’s match after an argument between the pair.
Clearly, the 54-year-old’s passion and no-nonsense approach is something that appeals to Arteta who has earned himself a similar reputation.
“I admire his honesty. He’s straightforward – he will look in your eyes and tell you what he thinks,” said Arteta.
“In the end, players appreciate that. They might like it more or less, depending how it happens, but I have had two or three players here who were with him in the national team, and they always said the same thing.
“They all enjoy playing under him. When somebody can make you feel like that in this profession, it’s a big quality to have.”
Having drawn 0-0 with Atalanta in the first league stage game, Arsenal will be keen to get a win under their belt to give themselves the best chance of finishing in the top eight thereby qualifying without an additional play-off round double-header.
Having gone unbeaten at home in the Champions League last season during a run to the quarter-finals, Arteta has strong foundations to build upon.
“Everybody is looking forward to it. We missed it for a number of years, and last year was the first one after so many years that we had the experience to do it,” he said.
“The group stage is a bit different this season and the opposition we are going to face tomorrow is probably at the highest level that you can face in European football. But honestly, it’s a good opportunity for us to see how we deal with these nights, how prepared we are and how we can impose ourselves in this kind of context.”
As for the threat posed by PSG who continue to search for a maiden victory in the Champions League having tried, failed and abandoned a Real Madrid-esque ‘Galactico’ project.
“They’re really tough,” said Arteta. “They are exceptional and they dominate every phase of play. They have a very clear intention of how they want to dominate the game through the ball and when they don’t have it, they want it straight back. They are really aggressive with it and they confront you.
“Of course, we want to win the game and we know after the draw in Atalanta, with the number of games we have left still, it’s going to be really important. Nothing is going to be decided tomorrow.
“Regarding Luis and I, we want to do the best for our clubs. He’s won pretty much every competition you can imagine already in his career, he has transformed a club that has a very clear identity. It’s a very good test for all of us.”
I love it how Mikel speaks with such respect and enthusiasm for every manager he comes up against and the media are like…
Man, this Arteta guy is just so dislikable.
The vast majority are cunts, that work for horrible rags like the Sun, Mail, Telegraph, Times so kinda stands to reason. Also a couple of divs from the Guardian, but that’s less of a rag imo. Sky should get an honourable mention for being cunts a large portion of the time.
Anyways, I agree, Arteta a wonderful man, so glad he’s our manager.
You think, Arteta will speak with respect and enthusiasm of Mourinho one day?
At Dortmund, big bro Auba taught Dembouz to be late at training sessions and team meetings. Hope this is not the case this time but it looks like.
Arteta is class, Wenger will be proud.