David Moyes told his pre-match press conference that Mikel Arteta has had a ‘great start’ to life at Arsenal.
The Scotsman pointed out Arteta winning the FA Cup and the Charity Shield so early on in his Arsenal career.
Moyes managed the technically-gifted midfielder during their days at Everton and now they will locks horns on the touchline today.
Ahead of Arsenal’s showdown with their London neighbours, this is what Moyes had to say about Arteta as a manager.
“I think any manager to go into a club the stature of Arsenal, it’s a big job,” said Moyes. “I think there has been so much success spoken about Arsenal over many, many years and what they have done. It’s going to be a hard job for anybody.
“But one thing Mikel has got is that he has a great playing experience. He understands the club, from that point of view. He worked under a great manager in Arsene Wenger there. He also had the chance to do a couple of years watching Pep.
“Arsenal were going to take a little bit of time to develop. I don’t think it was something he could do overnight and change. But I still think they are starting to look like they are going in the right direction.
“What a great start for any young manager to say that you are going to start and you already have a couple of trophies under your belt. He has had a great start in his early managerial career. I have no doubt it will go on and on.”
Whilst things are rosy in the garden for Arteta now, that wasn’t the case before Christmas when the plug could have been pulled at any time.
From getting smashed 3-0 at home to Aston Villa to losing 1-0 to Burnley and questioning whether they are in a relegation battle, it has changed quite a lot for the Gunners since.
The Premier League table might not suggest it, but there has been some progression from individual players, the team going forward and the fighting mentality now shown during difficult moments.
Plus, during this past week, beating Tottenham and then progressing in Europe helps Arteta quite a lot going forward.
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