Michael Owen said that Mikel Arteta was treated “pretty badly” when he first joined Arsenal, but now everything is changing.
The former England striker praised the people in charge at Arsenal and how “the people that mattered most” stuck by him when things got tough.
As of today, Arsenal is at the top of the Premier League table. Under the same manager, they were once out of Europe for the first time in over 20 years.
Arteta won the FA Cup in his first season at the club. COVID-19 interrupted it, and then played the whole next season behind closed doors.
Those 18 or so months seemed to have made Arteta and his team into who they are now because a lot of trash was thrown away and diamonds were put in its place.
What did Michael Owen say about Mikel Arteta?
Owen compared Arteta’s situation to what Jurgen Klopp went through when he first joined Liverpool. He said this to Premier League Productions.
“I thought the pressure he was under early on was pretty tough,” said Owen.
“No matter who the manager was, even Jurgen Klopp, there were calls for his head at certain points from the start. I remember Liverpool being up 3-0 in some games and then drawing 3-3, which made everyone wonder what was wrong with them. And back then, there was a lot of pressure.
I think every manager comes in because something was wrong before. So they need time to figure out what went wrong and then build their own team.
Transfer windows are needed. On the training pitch, it takes time. I think it’s important for Arsenal that the people who matter stuck with him, and they’re starting to see the results now,” he added.
Even though Arsenal fans will dream of the unthinkable, they still need to focus on getting into the Champions League for next season.
Yes, the longer they stay at the top or close to Manchester City and the more games they win, the more likely it is that the club and fans will believe they can win again.
But Arteta knows too well that they have to go to great lengths and depths to compete with Manchester City, who are likely to get 90+ points.
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Arsenal player who is proving to be a standout
Liverpool has learned over the years that it’s hard to compete with teams of that quality, which is why they’ve only won one title in recent years.
When Luis Diaz ran after Jordan Henderson’s pass, he had a head start, but it didn’t matter. William Saliba ran after him and caught up with him quickly. He pushed the Liverpool winger off the ball and won a goal kick to cheers from the crowd.
It was a very important play, and it happened at a key moment in Sunday’s game at the Emirates Stadium. Darwin Nunez had just tied the game for Liverpool in the first half, and Bukayo Saka had just put Arsenal back in front. Overall, Saliba did not do a great job.
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