Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has spoken about his move from being the head coach to being the manager, following controversial exits at Chelsea and Manchester United for Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim.
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta during the Arsenal press conference and media session at Sobha Realty Training Centre
Mikel Arteta has spoken about his move from head coach to manager at Arsenal
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(Image: (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images))
Mikel Arteta has described his transition from being the Arsenal head coach, to being given the title of manager during his time at the club. It comes after controversy erupted at rival clubs Chelsea and Manchester United, where changes in the coaching staff have been made in the past week.
Both Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim publicly revealed their frustration over the situation at their respective clubs, with a lack of direct control over the direction they were going in. The latter made it clear that he wanted to be the manager, and not the head coach, as part of an outburst to the media, raising questions over the direct impact of the two roles.
It's a different situation from what Arsenal have encounter, having named Arteta the head coach back in December 2019, only to hand him the role of manager in September 2020. Speaking to the press ahead of his side's clash with Liverpool about that change, he said: "It was different at the time, that they proposed to change the role. What they thought about in the areas that they thought I could help.
"We have formed great teams with different qualities. When there is someone who is better than me at something I let them do that."
With that change in title, Arteta revealed it gave him a boost, as he added: "Yeah [it did give a confidence boost] because I didn't demand it, I didn't ask for it. They thought it was the right decision for me."
Arteta was asked directly about the situation surrounding Amorim's exit, after part-owner of Man United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, had previously compared his situation to that of the Arsenal boss. He said: "I can only talk about what I have experienced and it's always sad to see a colleague losing his job obviously.
"We know where we are and yeah, I think you need support from the ownership, you need support from your staff, from players. At the end of the day you need to win a lot of football matches to stay in the job and that's the reality and the nature of our job."
Arsenal had traditionally used the manager role, but after Arsene Wenger's 22-year stay at the club ended, they opted for the head coach title. That was handed to Unai Emery in 2018, which saw him move on quickly, with Arteta eventually parachuted into the role himself.
The change to manager showed the confidence that Arsenal had in their manager, which is now being paid off with a team challenging at the very top. Vinai Venkatesham, who was the chief executive at the time before his move to rivals Tottenham, explained the decision to the official Arsenal website.
"The last nine months have probably been the most challenging nine months in Arsenal's history - and we've been around for 134 years. Despite all of those challenges, Mikel has been driving this football club forward," he said. "He has lifted the spirits and lifted the energy here at London Colney and with Arsenal fans all across the world. He is doing an absolutely phenomenal job.
"The other thing that's clear is that right from the day he walked through the door, he was doing much more than being our head coach. So we're going to be changing his job title going forward. He'll move from head coach to be the first-team manager. That's recognition of what he's been doing from the day he walked in the door, but also where we see his capabilities."
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