Mikel Arteta has said a big thank you to Steven Gerrard for the job that he has done at Glasgow Rangers, as per his comments at his latest press conference, which was broadcast on Arsenal’s official website.
“As a Rangers fan…”
Gerrard left Rangers for Aston Villa last week, where he will now come into direct competition with Arteta at Arsenal.
The Spaniard, who used to play for Rangers, still has a strong loyalty to the Ibrox side though.
And he now has a great deal of respect for Gerrard, for the job that he has done at Rangers.
“First of all, as a Rangers fan. I must say thank you so much for Stevie and the coaching staff for what they did for the club,” Arteta said.
“They turned the club around at such a difficult moment and they managed to win the league in the way that they did it was a big boost.
“Football is like that. People want to move and have other expectations. Now I wish the best to Giovanni [Van Bronckhorst].”
During his time in Scotland, Gerrard helped Rangers stop Celtic winning 10 league titles in a row.
He delivered them their 55th league title, while also making good progress with the Light Blues in European competition.
Differing opinions
Die-hard Rangers fans have not taken Gerrard’s departure quite as well as Arteta appears to, though.
Many Gers supporters have criticised the 41-year-old boss for leaving them to join Villa midway through the season.
In fairness to Gerrard though, he has left them in a far better place than when he took over.
Rangers are currently sat four points clear at the top of the league, giving them a real chance to go on and dominate Scottish football for some time.
Rangers officially appointed Giovanni van Bronckhorst as the Liverpool legend’s successor yesterday.
Gerrard, meanwhile, will start his Villa career with a game against Brighton & Hove Albion tomorrow.
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