Troy Deeney has drawn comparisons between Birmingham City manager Chris Davies and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, praising Davies for the impressive work he has been doing at the Championship club. Since 2019, Arsenal have experienced a steady improvement under Arteta’s leadership, and much of that progress has been attributed to the Spanish manager’s tactical acumen, discipline, and vision.
Arteta has been entrusted by the club to develop a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level, and he has largely delivered on that promise. While the Gunners may not have secured as many trophies as fans would have hoped, the team’s consistency and competitiveness have significantly improved since his appointment. His approach has made him a role model for aspiring managers, and Deeney sees similar qualities in Davies at Birmingham City.
Davies’ Impact at Birmingham City
Davies has been in charge of Birmingham since last year and played a key role in guiding them back to the Championship last season. His leadership and philosophy have impressed observers, with Deeney noting that the manager’s methods mirror those of Arteta in several respects. Via the podcast Keep Right On, Deeney highlighted the parallels, stating, “I see a lot of Arteta in him, a lot of Arteta in what he does. He’s just relentless, just the way you train is the way you play. Keep going. This is the philosophy. And we’re going to respect the opposition, but we are going to be that much better than you that you’re going to have to deal with it, we’re going to keep doing it our way and we’re going to find ways to win. That’s how I see it.”
The comparison reflects Davies’ commitment to instilling a coherent playing style and ensuring that his players consistently follow the principles he sets out. Just as Arteta has established a clear identity at Arsenal, Davies is shaping a team capable of competing effectively and consistently in the Championship.
Setting Standards for Players
Deeney also emphasised that, for managers like Davies, the team and players must rise to meet the standards set for them. “So for me, I think he’s the one now and the team and the players have got to step up to the standard,” he added. This approach demonstrates how managerial leadership extends beyond tactics to include discipline, work ethic, and belief in a clearly defined philosophy.
Davies’ work at Birmingham, in many ways, exemplifies the qualities that have made Arteta successful at Arsenal, and his methods appear to be producing tangible results. By maintaining high standards and fostering a culture of consistency, both managers show how effective leadership can transform a team’s performance and identity.
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There is a strong argument Arteta is one of Europe finest manager applying his trade in the premier league.
The Spaniard has achieved significant success with Arsenal, particularly in challenging for the premier league title and securing one fa cup in the process.
Critics will argue will argue he has yet to win a major European trophy such as the champions league.
But one must take into account specific criteria as tactical innovation and team development as key factors when making their assessment
Your first paragraph- there is no such argument,if there is I would like to see the proof .
Also your second paragraph-“significant success “?
😂
Arguments for Mikel Arteta’ being one of Europe’s finest managers center on his transformative impact on Arsenal culture and identity, his sophisticated tactical innovations and adaptability, and his exceptional ability to develop young players into world class talents.
One must remember, the Spaniard inherented a club in disarray and has successfully instilled a culture of professionalism,
He boast an impressive win percentage, even surpassing the legendary Arsne Wenger at this same stage in his coaching career
Arsenal has become a leading force in set piece effectiveness, turning technical details into a reliable source of goals and a crucial competitive edge in tight matches.
Facts
But better yet The THE SUN has highlighted Mikel Arteta’s emergence AS A TOP EUROPEAN COACH, noting his tactical approach, ability to manage the squad, and his role in transforming Arsenal into title contender,
I read a recent article focusing on the Spaniard success, including Arsenal record breaking defensive run, and the gaffer journey to the top ranks alongside friends like Xabi Alonso
Facts
Mikel Arteta has been hailed as “one of the best coaches in the world “ahead of Arsenal champions league opener against Athletic club.
The Spanish side boss Ernesto Valverde, has lauded Arteta as one of the games elite manager
Facts
Dan Kit, this one will sure to tickle your memory
Pep Guarrdiola stated in his own words “Mikel Arteta is one of the best managers he has ever worked with and that there is no one better to lead Arsenal.
That’s not fact that’s someone’s opinion .
Also who are these youngsters he’s turned into world class players ?
The Spaniard has been widely credited with developing several young players into top tier talents, key examples including Saka, Martineli, Saliba and Timber to a lesser extent, who are now widely considered to be world class players.
As with your original question, there was no such argument of Arteta as one of Europe finest manager.
Though one’s opinion are not necessarily facts, these strong opinions by Europe elite managers or the Sun papers, are components of the argument , don’t you think?
Saka and Martineli were brought through the ranks by Emery. By the time Arteta took over, they were already established players in our squad.
I’m sure you must have had enough football journalism to recognize that terms like “top”, “elite” and “one of the best” are very loosely used at describing talents. How many times have we seen “top”, “elite” or “one of the best” used in articles linking players and managers.
Though the Sun being a top news agency among UK’s elite news media and arguably one of the best in the world, it would only be sensible to take most football articles with a healthy pinch of salt
Sushi,
Your bang on the money regarding the journalists. For me papers like the Sun, Mirror, and the Daily Star are the gutter press a lot of the time.
And these type of journalists are sensationalist and seem to have the mantra, why let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Yes they’ve got to sell paper’s, but the way they go about it a lot of the time leaves a bad taste.
Again mate
Your just saying things because you want it to be true
If he left his job tomorrow he wouldn’t be remembered as a great manager
Gunsmoke,
You mention in one of your post’s replying to Dan kit, that Arteta has a better win rate than Arsene Wenger. And yes that’s true.
But how many trophy’s has he compared to Wenger, I know who’s record I prefer. I’d rather have trophy’s than the best winning rate any day of the week.
Clearly, Wenger experienced far more success and this was particularly true during the first half of his tenure. What is impossible to compare are the trophies as Arteta hasn’t been a football manager for anywhere near as long so there is no like for like situation. I very much doubt that Arteta can emulate AW’s achievements but a proper comparison is a waste of space until then. It’s also reasonable to point out that Chelsea and City had the benefit of enormous and continuous investment for many years which included the wealth of truly elite managers and players working for them. Virtually nobody got a look in apart from the Leicester team in a dream year and Liverpool under Klopp; even Utd with their seemingly bottomless pit of money fell short.
Kroenke has recently fully invested in Arteta, the management team and players. Now is the time for trophies of some description to follow. Arsenal are at least on a more equal footing to the other top clubs
SueP,
Good morning, I hear what you say. And regards your last three lines I hope your right. 👍
A lot of word salad being tossed around, and not a single definition of terms. What is “great”? How much better is it than “good”?
“Success” is relative; to some it implies titles, trophies, achieving what others could not, etc…. It comes down to semantics really. How one defines a term may not be the same or same context as another.
Personally, in my humble opinion, you can’t call someone great when they have not won anything with their chosen squad of players.
I really think Arteta will win the PL or the CL this year; I’m greedy and hope he wins both. However, I personally won’t call someone “great” when they have nothing to show for it.
I believe if Arteta wins a trophy this year more will follow; it’s getting the first and establishing that winning culture; Look at Pep, and look how Slot has stumbled.
“Their chosen squad of players”. This kind of thing gets thrown around a lot and really needs to stop.
It is a dishonest and quite silly narrative because no manager can solely determine the make up of their squad. A lot depends on various factors: what players are available, whether your club can afford the transfer fee, whether the player wants to come, other competing clubs, what players are already available at the club etc. etc.
Where I would agree with you is that whether a manager is considered great is down to opinion.
What you say is technically correct but it’s a common terminology used once a new manager brings in new players. I presume that in the majority of cases the manager has a fair amount of influence so it’s not wholly unreasonable to suggest that they’re his team.
Both Arteta and Slot have won trophies with ‘another man’s team’
I don’t find this way of looking at things sufficient to assess a manager. Are we supposed to discount Slot’s influence or devalue his contribution because he didn’t sign most of Liverpool’s players that won the PL?
Some of Man City’s best players over the last few years were not signed by Guardiola. Yet, it is very unusual to hear people suggest that we should put an asterisk by his achievements because of this. Not every manager can add a Harland or a Kane to
There a lot of factors that go into signing a player that sit outside what a manager can influence.
In my view, the common terminology that you have referenced is just used to discredit managers that people don’t respect.
Again, I can’t disagree with your premise but personally, lots of expressions are football-speak so I just mostly accept them for what they are. I may not always like reading that Arteta won with another man’s team because ultimately he coached them to that FACup win. The same should apply to Slot who had the good fortune to have a top team put in front of him – unlike Arteta – and was practically hailed as a genius.
People were not comparing 1st season Arteta with 1st season Slot. The comparison was between 5th season spent £700m and already finished 2nd Arteta with 1st season Slot.
There is no doubt that Slot inherited a better squad than Arteta. Slot was hailed because he took a team that finished 3rd under Klopp to 1st, showing improvement
I’m not sure I understand what you mean as I was referring only to both managers in their first seasons where both Arteta and Slot won trophies with inherited players. That was what the argument was about. Neither had their own players
What you are stating is that for the money spent, Arteta should have won. He might have won had the injury list not been so prolonged and with our best players sidelined. Another maybe is if Klopp hadn’t resigned, he’d have won the league too. They were “his players “
I never once stated that for the money spent, Arteta should have won. I was explaining why Slot was hailed for doing well by bringing Liverpool up 2 spots to 1st. Had Klopp won then that would have been an improvement too because they were 3rd the season before.
I noticed some people here suggesting that comparisons between Slot and Arteta were unfair because Arteta inherited a mess while Slot inherited a top team. Just wanted those folks to know that people were comparing 5th season spent £700m and already finished 2nd Arteta to 1st season Slot. No rational person should be comparing 1st season Arteta with 1st season Slot and expect Arteta to win the league in his first season.
Arteta was given the plaudits in his early days for winning the FA Cup and a lot of us were hopeful of better things to come. Unfortunately it went downhill the following season and he was criticized. Now Slot is also getting blasted for letting things slide after the plaudits he was given for winning a bigger prize, the league title. All is fair
Ok then. Let’s refrain from using the term “Their chosen squad of players”.
I would highly recommend the term “randomly formed squad of players” determined by the cosmic forces of the universe. That way David may consider it an honest and intelligent narrative
Until he wins a Prem he can’t be in the conversation as being great
To compare him to Mr Wenger is an insult to what Mr Wenger achieved
Dan,
I’ve said something similar on another post.
Yes Arteta has done good things at the club, of that there’s no doubt.
But if we’re talking purely of trophy’s, then he’s definitely not in the same conversation.
Let’s be honest mate
This whole , ‘ trophies are not everything ‘ only exists because he doesn’t win trophies
If he wins the Prem trust me people will being it up as a reason he’s great