Praise from Raheem shows how Arsenal has evolved!
Mikel Arteta has received a lot of praise since he has taken over as Arsenal manager, but the latest bit of praise to be thrown his way is from a rather surprising source.
Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling has spoken out on Arteta and his Arsenal side after he scored the only goal of the game to get a tightly contested 1-0 win over the Gunners at the Etihad on the weekend. Speaking about our gaffer and the way Arsenal played he stated:
“Arsenal are a ‘tough team, Arteta has made Arsenal more aggressive”
Of course Sterling knows Mikel well from when he was assistant to Guardiola at City, and he has praised the way he has come in and changed the Arsenal state of play and mind, although it is not a shock to Sterling himself, adding:
“(Arsenal) closed the pitch well and they had some good chances as well. It was a tough team to play against and Mikel has them well drilled. He’s a person that had a lot of say here. The manager trusted him here and he had a lot of influence on the players here, and the team as well. So I knew once he went into Arsenal that it would be a great opportunity for him, but also he would definitely implement what he wanted to bring in. And he’s a person that will put his foot down and not let things slide as you can see with the boys at Arsenal. They know if they don’t run they are most likely not going to play.”
Sterling goes on to say that Arsenal have always had a strong side but Arteta has challenged them to match their skill with work rates:
“You can see the change that he’s brought in there, you can see the energy, you can see how much he’s put into them with their off-ball work. We all knew before Mikel got in how much good football they could play, how technically good they were but probably off the field they weren’t as aggressive as they are with Mikel. They run their socks off now, you can see why they benefited with some good results recently.”
AND LONG MAY IT CONTUNUE!
This is big praise indeed from Sterling, but of course we all know the big job Arteta has done so far and is still yet to do and if it will be half of what it was like when he was helping Pep then I am sure we are in for a lot more successes. Gooners?
Shenel Osman