Despite overseeing a dramatic turnaround in Arsenal’s fortunes, Mikel Arteta is yet to deliver a Premier League or Champions League trophy to the Emirates.
This failure to ultimately deliver an honour of this stature has arguably meant the Spaniard hasn’t garnered the respect he deserves from the outside world.
Arteta is constantly criticised in the media for his perceived petulant personality, with his charisma and desire to win often meaning he’s seen as a polarising figure.
However, after Arsenal beat Real Madrid in emphatic fashion on Tuesday night, the footballing world may be waking up to the tactical capabilities that the Gunners’ boss possesses.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles labels Mikel Arteta a ‘footballing genius’
Arteta masterminded a battering of the reigning European Champions, to put Arsenal on the brink of a first Champions League semi-final since 2009.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who played under Arteta between 2019 and 2022, has provided some insight into the manager and his coaching style.
Speaking to BBC Sport about Unai Emery and Arteta, the now Lyon full-back labelled the head coach a ‘footballing genius’, but claimed that his man-management skills were ‘average’.
“Maybe his [Emery’s] time was cut short but they replaced him with a footballing genius in Arteta,” Maitland-Niles said.
“He really studied how Pep [Guardiola] took football to new heights as one of the best managers in the world. He really, really studied how to break down teams and be most effective in games. Arsenal are showing that at this point.
“They are not coming close enough to win the league but you can see they are making big, big improvements by going close two years in a row.
“I had respect for him as a manager, I thought he was a tactical genius but it was an average player-manager relationship, not especially close.”
Initially frozen out by Arteta, Maitland-Niles established himself as an indispensable figure at left-wing-back in Arsenal’s FA Cup run in 2020.
Several clubs showed an interest in Maitland-Niles, but he ultimately opted to stay in N5.
This proved to be a mistake, as he was gradually given less playing time by Arteta and left the club for free in 2023 after below-par loans at West Brom, Roma and Southampton.
What Ainsley Maitland-Niles said about Unai Emery
Arteta’s predecessor, Emery, was certainly a divisive figure in his time at Arsenal.
Starting positively and leading the club to a Europa League final, the Aston Villa boss’ team unravelled in his second season, with the Gunners languishing above the relegation zone at the time of his dismissal.
Despite this, Maitland-Niles had nothing but positive things to say about the tactician.
“Emery was really good for Arsenal and you can see now with what he is doing with Aston Villa that he is a great manager,” he said.
“Maybe when they [Arsenal] look back, they might think it was a bit hasty, but for the players, we gelled with him and we enjoyed having him.”
The versatile defender also spoke about the 2020 FA Cup success, revealing that it was a dream day for him.
“To do it with Arsenal, my boyhood club – I still watch them to this day.
“It was fantastic, a dream come true to be able to win a trophy that night with the team I grew up with and watching. It was an amazing feeling, I can’t describe it.”
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
