Morning.
Mikel Arteta will hold his pre-Leeds press conference this afternoon, and no doubt there will be questions about his new contract. That self-styled zany bloke from Sky will arrive with a cake in the shape of a contract, while he himself is dressed as a contract, and via the medium of interpretive dance, he will say something like ‘I have a got a contract out on you, Mikel Arteta. What do you think of that?!’, as if he’s some kind of fudge-shaped mafioso with a microphone.
The manager will smile, perhaps doing that thing where he glances awkwardly at the press officer because a grown man acting like this in front of him makes him, understandably, uncomfortable, but then he’ll give us his thoughts on staying, and what he wants to do in the next period of his Arsenal tenure.
On the Arsecast yesterday, we spoke about him wanting to cement his Arsenal legacy, and how, even with the success of last season, there will be things he will use to drive himself and motivate his players. He’s a man who recognises that in sport, and life I guess, there will be things that hurt you, but it’s about how you use that pain. So, I did enjoy the headline of Amy Lawrence’s interview with Arteta in The Athletic (£): ‘I have poison in my veins at Champions League defeat. It left a scar’.
If something relatively benign, like an Ivan Toney Tweet, festers away in his mind until such time as he can use it again, you can be quite sure that losing a Champions League final will become a kind of footballing ghost he won’t stop trying to exorcise. He goes on to say of Budapest, “It has to stay there because that’s when you learn and that probably is going to be a massive driver for me and everybody.”
It’s such a useful quality to have when you’re a manager, the leader, and it’s obviously something that’s innate. I’m sure you can learn it, but human nature means you’re dealing with all kinds of characters, and even at the top level of the game we’ve all seen people who, despite huge talent, can get inside their own heads too much. Whether it’s a missed chance, a defensive lapse, a goalkeeping fumble, a managerial misstep, they dwell on it. It eats them up a bit, and the impact typically is negative.
The ability – and desire – to take something which has hurt you, scarred you, or embarrassed you, and then turn it 180 into a positive reaction is a real strength, and it’s one this manager possesses in spades. It’s very, very difficult to win the Champions League, and as Arsenal fans we know that very well. Two finals in our entire history, two defeats, and when you look around Europe at some of the clubs with their histories, resources, and the playing fields they operate in being more conducive to European progress than teams that play in England, the odds are probably longer for us than the bookies might suggest.
Nevertheless, if by the time this new contract has come to an end, we’ve gone the distance and finally won it, I wouldn’t be even slightly surprised. I’d be delighted, obviously, and I don’t mean to say we’re dead certs or anything like it, but Arteta’s singular drive for success and to right the wrongs of the past make it a pretty good bet (if you were a betting man, of course). Time will tell.
The other big question he’ll face today is about Man City in the wake of the 114 guilty verdicts from the 115 charges. It’s relevant to any Premier League manager, but given his history there and his relationship with Pep Guardiola, it’s even more so to him. My sense, however, is that anyone looking for him to go in two-footed will be disappointed. First, that’s not his style in any event. He quite judiciously ensures in all of his press conference answers about opposition teams or managers that he creates zero scandal. They are always a strong, well organised team with a man in charge who has done a great job which he respects. It’s smart, perhaps a bit on the boring side at times, but you can 100% get why he does it.
In this instance, if there hasn’t been a sit down with the club’s communications team, and probably the lawyers too, I’d be flabbergasted. This is probably going to be the straightest bat of all straight bats. Something about how the Premier League have delivered their verdict and now we have to wait for the appeal. If he’s asked about how he thinks Man City should be punished, he’ll say that’s not up to him, it’s up to the Premier League.
It is a curious one though because at times Arteta has spoken about things which he feel have damaged the game. The Ezri Konsa penalty at Sunderland this season was framed that way, where he felt for the good of football you can’t have a decision like that go against any team. In my opinion, what Man City have done to the game is multitudes worse than a dodgy refereeing decision (and some crap VAR on top), but we’re unlikely to hear much about that from him. I understand why that will be the case, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
I am fascinated to hear what the reaction more broadly across Premier League managers will be. Will those in situ right now feel it’s best to keep schtum and avoid backlash, or will some speak out? With the internationals now over, and the fixture list throwing up a doozy at Anfield on Sunday, the City stuff comes whirling back into focus, so let’s see how it goes and who says what.
For more on the press conference, our game against Leeds tomorrow, and the reaction across the other managers, join us later on Patreon for our preview podcast. We’ll have that for you mid-afternoon. For now, I’ll leave it there, and the Arsecast is below if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet.
And for some extra reading this morning, Tim’s column this week has three big questions.
Until later!