Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta sided with his Gunners players after they were beaten 1-0 by the Toffees at Goodison Park on Saturday.
What did Mikel Arteta say?
A header from centre-back James Tarkovski was enough to knock Arsenal off in a peppy performance from the home side in Sean Dyche’s first game under management. The Gunners, meanwhile, missed the opportunity to extract eight points from the Citizens at the Premier League summit. Mikel Arteta emphasized that his players supported him, claiming that he loves them even more after the loss.
The head coach of Arsenal said after the match that today he loves them much more than a week ago, a month ago, six months ago. According to Mikel Arteta, it’s easy to be there for someone when they’re winning and playing well, but now is the moment to be there for them because they totally deserve it and he’s so proud to call them his players.
Asked about Manchester City potentially closing the gap on the league leaders, Mikel Arteta reiterated that the title race is far from over, that it won’t be the way of the roses. It will be difficult, difficult, and they will have to respond to disappointment. The Spaniard says that they will have to dig and play better than today, that’s for sure.
A little about the topic
Saturday’s defeat is only the Gunners’ second in the league in the entire campaign, handing Everton their first win since mid-October. While Sean will be buoyed by the instant reaction from his side since the appointment, Arteta will have to channel his player’s frustration ahead of a huge matchup against the Citizens on February 15th.
The Arsenal manager has flipped the Gunners’ fortunes and placed them at the top of the Premier League table, but what does Mikel Arteta like to work with?
How was everything?
Mikel Arteta returned to Emirates Stadium in a managerial capacity back in December 2019 when he was appointed Emery’s permanent successor, having previously spent five years in north London as a player. Arteta took over captaincy duties under the legendary Wenger and it was during this time that he crossed paths with Frimpong, an academy graduate who may not have always been Mikel’s biggest fan at the time, but can now appreciate all he accomplished as a player and trainer.
Mikel Arteta – top, best professional
Emmanuel Frimpong, who left the Gunners’ youth system the same summer as Arteta arrived at Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2011, said that Mikel Arteta was very serious. According to him, Ateta is a serious guy. Loves to win – loves to win! It’s all about winning. When Mikel played with him at the time, he was someone who took his training very seriously. After and before training, he is in the gym, stretching and ice baths.
Frimpong thinks that Mikel is the top, the best professional. It’s no surprise that he’s where he is at the moment as the head coach of the Gunners at such a young age, it just tells you what the people at Arsenal really think of him. Once he’s done playing professional football, Guardiola wouldn’t have told him to go and be his assistant if he didn’t know what he was doing. Mikel is a top trainer and deserves to be where he is. Emmanuel Frimpong says that when Mikel Arteta played he was very dedicated to his craft.