Mikel Arteta has earned a lot of plaudits for the job he has done as Arsenal manager, and he had plenty of influences which shaped his style of coaching.
Arteta’s playing career saw him play in a variety of different teams across different countries, at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Sociedad, Rangers, Everton and Arsenal, and under plenty of different coaches.
His best playing days came at Everton and Arsenal, under David Moyes and Arsene Wenger, before he then retired and joined Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City.
Arteta has drawn a lot of comparisons with Guardiola for both his tactical style and man-management methods, and the two are now competing with each other at the top of the Premier League.
Former Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard has now praised Arteta, and compared him to a manager they both played under in the past.
Tim Howard compares Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta with David Moyes
Howard has now told the Daily Mail that whilst Arteta has changed since his playing days, the influence of Moyes from their time at Everton together is clear to see.
“Mikel is different now. He has changed… but I think in a very good way. As a manager, you have to figure out what your voice is going to be and how you want to project yourself,” he stated.
“These days, he’s quite closed off and he doesn’t give away a lot of secrets. That is not a surprise – he’s been schooled under Pep at Manchester City.
“When you look at who he’s become as a manager, he absolutely has a sprinkle of Moyes, too.
“Mikel had the guile, the tactical awareness and the magical feet. But David and his teams always had a steeliness – and he turned Mikel into a hard-nosed midfielder.
Mikel Arteta has full command of the Arsenal squad
Howard also highlighted Arteta’s somewhat unusual methods, which saw him panned for playing Liverpool’s club anthem in training ahead of a trip to Anfield once, claiming that whilst this was not something he saw at Everton, it shows that he has full control of his squad.
READ MORE: Arsenal’s XI for Mikel Arteta’s first match as manager
“There are some things he didn’t learn at Everton, though. Blasting out You’ll Never Walk Alone during training, for one! But as a manager, you have to look deeper than you ever did as a player.
“You have to find little nuances to give your team an advantage. Soccer is ever evolving and you can’t be afraid of things that might hurt you or fail.
“As long as the players in the dressing room buy into it, then no other opinions matter. And right now there’s a massive buy-in from that squad.”
Arteta rebuilt the Arsenal squad into one which is fully committed to his tactical ideas, and weeded out the players who did not have the required mentality or quality to play his football, and is now reaping the rewards at the top of the Premier League.
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