Mikel Arteta has claimed Jose Mourinho has been ‘more than [an] influence’ on his coaching career amid accusations that the Arsenal manager employed ‘dark arts’ during the intense 2-2 draw at Manchester City over the weekend. This follows a wave of hysteria among rival fans, who have mocked the 42-year-old’s mentality in attempting to address his club’s well-documented Premier League trophy drought.
Leandro Trossard received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for kicking the ball away – an offence strikingly similar to the one that resulted in Declan Rice’s dismissal against Brighton earlier in the month. This situation compelled Arteta to adopt a strategy reminiscent of Mourinho’s coaching style, as he decided to “park the bus” in front of David Raya in an effort to defend the lead in the second half against a relentless City side.
But the hard work of Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel, which gave them a 2-1 lead after Erling Haaland’s milestone opener, unravelled in the final moments as John Stones netted a 98th-minute equaliser. While Arteta has downplayed suggestions that he resorted to cunning strategies, his remarks on Mourinho will resonate with those who followed the weekend’s events.
Jose Mourinho’s Influence on Arteta
Arsenal’s recent gamesmanship takes a leaf out of the former Chelsea manager’s book
Although Arsenal were unable to get their victory over the line on Sunday, a lot of praise has been given to the likes of David Raya, William Saliba, and Gabriel, with the latter of the three also being described as having “an aura around him at Arsenal”. Yet, while the defensive unit has been put on a pedestal after also keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League last season, Arteta’s skulduggery has been the source of a lot of controversy – with rivals even contacting the PGMOL to express concerns.
Nevertheless, when a manager is being compared to the laid-back yet callous tyrant personality traits of Mourinho, a narrative of love and hate will always be forged. When Arteta was asked if Mourinho has influenced him, he replied:
“More than influence, I think you learn a lot from other top coaches and you try to understand why they’ve been successful. But if it goes in a different direction, do you have the ability to adapt?”
In the Premier League annals, perhaps there is no manager better versed on adaption than Mourinho, who masterminded Chelsea’s most glorious era. Sir Alex Ferguson might’ve coined the expression that “attack wins games, defence wins titles”, but nobody laid down the groundwork and built it from a thought cloud to its successful envisioning better than Mourinho.
He took the statement quite literally when he organised Chelsea into an impenetrable defensive machine that won successive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006 before returning to win them a third league title in 2015.
That said, though, Arteta was keen to keep his cards close to his chest on the matter. After the match, Stones created quite a furore by claiming that Arsenal had “done [dark arts] for a few years” as Rodri went out injured with a confirmed ACL tear. The Gunners’ helmsman rubbished those claims and said:
“I always prefer the facts to words or supposing things. Let’s see who is available tomorrow and then we can talk about ‘dark arts’ or these things or if it’s a reality. Unfortunately, yes there will be a few players not available. I don’t know. It’s opinions and that’s it.”
Arteta’s Similarities to Mourinho
Gary Neville has paid Arteta and Arsenal the ultimate respect
Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have faced criticism in the past for lacking the necessary mentality to compete at the highest level, particularly in key moments of their campaigns. The most recent example of such scathing denunciation came when Bernardo Silva used Liverpool to fuel their rivalry and turn it into an inferno.
The six-time Premier League winner was yet another to slam Arsenal’s lack of trophies in recent years. Despite these concerns, though, Arteta has remained adamant about his long-term vision for the club, emphasising that mentality is something being built alongside their tactical and technical improvements.
Against Pep Guardiola on Sunday, there were clear signs of his evolution into a guileful mastermind. And Gary Neville has sung the praises of Arteta and his Arsenal team, noting how he could come close to breaking a Mourinho record this year to only intensify the comparisons being made. In response to a question about whether the defence could beat the record for the fewest goals conceded in a Premier League campaign, he said:
“Oh I don’t know about that. That’s a pretty amazing record. To only concede 15 goals in 38 matches is incredible. I still can’t believe to this day that they actually did it. They’ll get close I think, but I don’t think they’ll quite break that record.”
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