Mikel Arteta is one of the best managers in the world today, but he had some tough moments early on at Arsenal.
The Gunners’ job is the Spaniard’s first-ever role as a manager, and even though he won the FA Cup and the Community Shield in his first year, there were some poor results before the start of the 2022/23 season.
At that time, many people called for Arteta to be sacked, but Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke stuck by him. Pep Guardiola thinks it’s because the hierarchy watched how he worked and listened to what the players said about him.
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Pep Guardiola explains why Arsenal did not sack Mikel Arteta years ago
Arsenal choosing to stick with Mikel Arteta in the difficult moments has proved to be one of their best decisions of all time.
It would’ve been very easy to let the Spaniard leave after finishing eighth in the Premier League in his second season and missing out on Champions League qualification a year later.
If the decision-makers of the club listened to certain agenda-driven pundits, they could well have shown Arteta the door. But they didn’t.
Guardiola has now claimed that he would’ve done the same.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “Mikel won, in the beginning, the FA Cup and some Community Shields, but they haven’t won (since). But still, he’s there six years later. It’s because the hierarchy trusts him.
“If I were a Sporting Director, CEO, or the guy who decides who’s the manager, I will take a look at how they train, how the people and the players talk about the manager, and how they work.
“If it’s good and the people are (on board), forget the results, the results will come.
“The opposite side is the same. If I’m a sporting director at a club and we are winning, winning, but the people don’t follow the manager, the moment the results are bad, he must be fired.
“I think what happened is they (Arsenal) saw how he (Arteta) worked, and the people above him, the American people (the Kroenkes), decided that he’s the guy that has to guide us for the next years.
“That’s why he’s still there.”
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Arsenal could’ve become like Tottenham if they had fired Mikel Arteta
There was a point early on when Arsenal could have justified sacking Arteta, but the owners deserve all the praise in the world for sticking by him.
That should act as a lesson to certain other clubs, namely Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs sacked Ange Postecoglou after he won them their first trophy in over 15 years, and they are now looking likely to get relegated.
That came after they failed to support the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, who are all top-class.
If Arsenal had panicked and sacked Arteta as Spurs did with the above names, they could easily have been as bad as their North London rivals now.
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