21 January 2023 , 22:30
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Mikel Arteta knows Arsenal haven’t been streetwise or downright dirty enough to mix it with the big boys in recent seasons.
That far too often they have been bullied out of even thinking about a title tilt. This season, however, he knows there is something different about his team and he has implored them to keep on showing it on the field as they prepare for Sunday's crunch battle with Manchester United.
Arteta said: “We haven’t been streetwise enough in the last many years to be in the title race. It’s something we have to show we can do. But words mean nothing, we have to do it on the pitch.
“Having that balance of physical and mental strength and having those qualities in the squad is necessary. To have the mentality and capacity to control emotions that are required to play on big stages is very necessary.
“The physical aspect is necessary — without that you cannot compete over 11 months in the conditions in which we work. We have tried to build a team that has everything.”
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Time will tell whether or not Arteta and his staff have been successful in that but the signs since August suggest they have or, at the very least, are close to doing so.
It is a just reward for the club for putting their faith in a young manager and, what makes it even more rewarding for the Gunners, is the fact it’s a former player of theirs doing the business.
Mikel Arteta has turned Arsenal into Premier League leaders (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)It could all have been so different, however, had Arteta been put off joining Arsenal by the 8-2 defeat they suffered against United in 2011, two days before he was set to join.
But, just as United midfielder Casemiro wasn’t put off by the 4-0 defeat at Brentford this season, texting his agent to tell the club he’d sort things as he watched on, nor was Arteta.
He added: “I was lucky enough to get that phone call a few days before to have the opportunity to play for this club and the circumstances are sometimes necessary for someone to be given the opportunity to experience something.
Mikel Arteta will go up against Erik ten Hag and Man Utd on Sunday (Michael Regan/Getty Images)“Unfortunately it had to be the 8-2 because it was a big result on the day. But after that the rest is history. I don’t think it was that game that got me here but it probably helped, another layer probably.”
Of course, Sir Alex Ferguson was the Manchester United boss then and Arteta has enjoyed the times their paths have crossed in more recent times.
Arteta said: “I have had a few conversations with Sir Alex, not formally, just with people around him and it was more listening than talking obviously.
“What really captured me was his presence, his charisma, the way he talked and how honest and brutal he was about certain opinions that he had about the game and players.”