Rafa Benitez has hailed Arsenal’s attacking trio, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka for being ‘very dynamic’ and praised Mikel Arteta for the job he has done at the current Premier League leaders.
The former Liverpool boss spoke about the support Arteta has been given by the powers that be, despite several times of struggle, and how Arsenal are now playing with such confidence and quality.
On several occasions, it could have been pretty easy for the decision-makers to part ways with Arteta because there were many, many dark moments during his drama-filled and FA Cup-winning tenure so far.
From when he was knocked out of the Europa League by the man he replaced – Unai Emery – to missing out on Europe altogether, the abject start they made at the start of the last campaign and then getting pipped to the Champions League by Tottenham.
But whilst those noises were loud outside, the confidence, belief and backing was unmoved from within the four walls of London Colney.
And now, the results are there for all to see because, after ten Premier League matches, the Gunners are top of the table and they have made the best start to any season in their history.
Benitez has also held many pressure-cooker jobs during his career, as he shared his thoughts on the backing Arteta has been given and the style in which they play, as he told Premier League Productions.
“It’s good to give time to a coach and it’s good to give time to the right coach,” said Benitez. “In England, it’s easy to talk about ‘they have to spend money and it’s the only way’. With the economical crisis around the world, you have to improve your players. You have to coach your players properly and keep your eye on the academy and bring players from the academy.
“If you can buy players, buy top-class, but not top-class players in terms of ability, but mentality. Then, if the manager and the idea are right, then you have to give him confidence. That is really important. Arteta was under pressure a couple of times. They were spending a lot of money, don’t get me wrong. But they were supporting and he was doing well. At the end of the day, the value of the team, the players and the club is much better now.
“They are doing well. Not just analysing the games. Watching the games as well. They are doing a lot of things right. They press high. They have the possession. They move the ball very quickly. They have lively and very dynamic players in front that as soon as they give the ball away, they press, and then they regain the ball quickly
“They have good players in one-v-one situations, so a lot of goods things and the defence is very high – when you are doing well and you have good players, then you can take risks. You can take risks in the last pass because they are so quick when they go to press and they have so much pace in attack.”
WILL ARSENAL LOSE MOMENTUM?
Arsenal are flying in all competitions and fans will just want the games to continue rolling in because there is no stopping them.
A lot has been made of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being slap bang in the middle of the season, and if you are flying like the Gunners, then you don’t want that break to come along.
Will that derail them when they return after Christmas? Those first few games back will be very, very crucial because if points are dropped, then the obvious will be thrown at the club.
Either way, with the main aim at the start of the campaign being to secure Champions League football, this is dreamland for the Gooners, so far.
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