‘For me to play at this club you have to be the best in your position. When you lose that, I think you should be away from this place. I have probably been here too long. In the last few months, I probably didn’t deserve to be here. For me, the standards you need to play for this club, it cannot be eight out of 10, it has to be 10 out of 10.
‘When you cannot deliver that, it is not good enough. Sometimes people get away with it. Inside myself, my gut wasn’t clean and when you are like this, I prefer to make the decision myself.’ These were Mikel Arteta’s words in the wake of his final game as a player for Arsenal in May 2016.
As a pre-manifesto for his stint as manager, which would begin three-and-a-half years later, he has lived it to the full. I have long been drawn to Arteta as a communicator, as I set out in this week’s Arsecast, I think there has been a distinction between how his communication style has resonated with Arsenal supporters compared to the wider media and public.
In press conferences, he is perfunctory. There is little levity and sometimes he could give Johnny Tightlips a run for his money when it comes to dispensing information. However, when he has something to say, I think Arsenal fans feel and hear it, even when the ‘outside world’ doesn’t. I often look back at his unveiling press conference as Arsenal’s manager in December 2019.
‘We have to try to engage everybody, I have to try and convince the players about what I want to do, how I want to do it…We have to build a culture that has to sustain the rest. If you don’t have the right culture, in the difficult moments, the tree is going to shake, so my job is to convince everybody that this is how we are going to live, and if you are going to be part of this organisation it has to be in these terms and in this way.
‘We need the fans. We need to engage them, we need to be able to transmit with our behaviours, our intentions, what we want to bring to this football…
Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/05/he-knows-exactly-what-we-need/
Author : Tim Stillman
Publish date : 2024-05-16 12:00:18
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