Kompany explains what Man City stars would do when Arteta got "too intense"
Vincent Kompany has joked he used to foul Mikel Arteta in training at Manchester City if he “got too intense”.
Arteta joined in the practice games at City, refereed by Brian Kidd, when he was Blues No 2 and Kompany smiles this gave him the opportunity to “leave something on him”. Kompany faces Arteta today as rival Premier League managers when Burnley visit Arsenal and he says the Spaniard was always driven to succeed.
“He was still able to join in the sessions when I was there, so he was intense,” grinned the Burnley boss. “But every now and then if he got too intense, you could leave something on him in training!
“He was extremely passionate, driven, dedicated, intelligent. He had a big role behind the scenes as well for the club. I don’t think any of us doubted that he would be a good manager.”
Kompany is not surprised Arteta overcame a difficult start in the Premier League to make Arsenal one of the top teams in the country.
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“What he’s done at Arsenal, is completely in line with his personality,” he said. “It started with some tough challenges, but he managed to rally the club behind him and eventually they’ve built a team that’s now one of the best in the league.
“There was a plan and a method behind it, which you knew he would execute if he was given the time, and people are seeing it now.
“You don’t go to a bakery and sack the baker because he’s messed up a croissant. If he turns up at four in the morning and he’s busy until eight in the evening, eventually he’s going to be better than the baker next door.”
Mikel Arteta and Vincent Kompany worked together at Manchester CityBurnley badly need a win - they are on a five-match losing streak - and Kompany singled out his former City team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko as an example to everyone.
He is impressed by the way the Ukrainian has fought hard to establish himself as a Premier League star at Arsenal. “Zinchenko is a good example because in the beginning, a lot of people would have bet against him,” he said.
“He wasn’t necessarily a full-back, he used to play as an attacking midfielder, his loan spell in Holland wasn’t really successful, so what’s he going to do in Man City’s squad?
“But behind the scenes, what people didn’t see, is that he was one of the most relentless hard-working players I’ve ever played with.”
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