Speaking to Sky Sports, Kevin De Bruyne has been discussing his former Manchester City colleague and current Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta.
Arteta, of course, worked very closely with De Bruyne during their time together at the Etihad, but the Spaniard’s time in Manchester was cut short as he was offered the chance to manage Arsenal.
Understandably, Arteta jumped at this opportunity, and after a shaky start to his managerial career, things are finally going well for the former midfielder.
Indeed, Arsenal are now top of the league and Arteta is being recognised as the great coach he is.
Many have been taken aback by Arsenal’s marked improvement this year, but De Bruyne says he’s not surprised at all to see Arteta shining at Arsenal.
De Bruyne on Arteta
The midfielder spoke about the former City coach.
“You worked a lot with Mikel Arteta, does it surprise you to see the job he’s done at Arsenal?” De Bruyne was asked.
“No, not really, I see a lot of similarities with the way we play, but that’s always been his style. This was a good learning school and we had some great years,” De Bruyne said.
“I saw an evolution from the beginning with Mikel to the three years after he left. In the beginning he was adapting, but now he’s getting more and more into his role. I think it’s nice to see that he got the time from Arsenal because that’s rare. I’m happy that it’s going well. They’re playing really good”
Perfect pedigree
Say what you will about Arteta’s shaky start at Arsenal, but the Gunners have been proven to be spot on in their decision to stick with him.
Indeed, Arteta has been fantastic for Arsenal over the past 12 months or so, and the Gunners clearly saw this potential in their manager from day one.
To be fair, when you come from that sort of background as a La Masia graduate, former Premier League midfielder who has worked closely with Pep Guardiola, you’re always going to be a successful coach.
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