David Moyes has defended Mikel Arteta's managerial rise ahead of Everton’s Premier League visit to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Moyes, who signed Arteta for Everton in January 2005, reflected on the Spaniard’s growth from player to title-winning coach and criticised the early media doubts about his achievements.
Arteta spent six-and-a-half years at Everton before moving to Arsenal, where he eventually transitioned into management. Since taking charge, Arteta has won the FA Cup in 2020 and led Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years this past May. Moyes expressed pride in Arteta’s progress, noting the combination of influences that shaped his career.
“I always look and I think: ‘Mikel has had Pep, what would he take from me?’ I don’t really know,” Moyes said. “I know how Pep works, how good his teams are and what he’s seen… But there’s a lot of other stuff like having a winning culture and a winning team. How you’re dealing with the players, what you’re demanding of them, the standards you set. I hope that in some way he might have taken bits of that.”
Moyes recalled the criticism Arteta faced early in his managerial tenure at Arsenal. Despite winning the FA Cup at the end of his first year, some voices questioned his credentials. “I remember listening and hearing people talk about what he hadn’t done. I’m saying: ‘what a load of rubbish,’” Moyes said. “He won the FA Cup at the end of the first year and folks were saying: ‘he’s not won anything.’ He’s now right up there, winning the Premier League.”
The Everton manager also pointed to a trend of Basque managers making an impact in English football. Alongside Arteta, he mentioned Unai Emery, Andoni Iraola, and Xabi Alonso. “Look at the boys who’ve come out of the Basque Country… it looks like at the moment they’ve got the magic dust,” Moyes added.
Arteta’s time working under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City has been widely credited with shaping his tactical approach, but Moyes believes the Arsenal manager’s success also draws from his earlier experiences. Moyes said Arteta is now counted among the best coaches in the world, competing not only in the Premier League but regularly facing top teams in the Champions League.
“He’s playing against the best teams in the Champions League,” Moyes said. “He’s right up there with the best managers in the world at the moment.”
Everton will try to disrupt Arteta’s title-chasing Arsenal this weekend, with Moyes preparing to face his former player on the sidelines. The meeting at the Emirates will be a test of how far both managers and their teams have come since Arteta’s arrival in English football two decades ago.
According to Yahoo Sports.
