Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted his admiration for Diego Simeone, saying the similarities are uncanny as the Gunners aim for their first Premier League title in more than 20 years.
Arteta’s side have a seven-point lead at the top of the table.
Mikel Arteta said he “respects” Diego Simeone ahead of their Champions League clash. The Arsenal manager has now taken that admiration to a whole new level and feels he is slowly transforming into Simeone.
Atletico Madrid manager Simeone is one of the most respected managers in European football, having won trophies and established the club as a true powerhouse and a very difficult team to play against.
But Simeone is also a master of football’s dark arts when it comes to picking up ugly, time-wasting, tactical fouls.
To be clear, this is not necessarily a negative comparison. During his 14-year tenure, Simeone won La Liga twice, the Europa League twice, the European Super Cup twice and was runner-up in the Champions League twice.
read more: Mikel Arteta responds with three words as Fabian Hürzeler demolishes Arsenalread more: Fabian Hürzeler lashes out at Arsenal after Brighton’s win and makes shocking rant
Simeone made a name for himself by defying the odds against the superpowers of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Winning and succeeding in that environment is a great achievement and reflects the work Arteta is doing at Arsenal.
Arteta has transformed the club from mediocre to genuine title challengers in six years, with Arsenal competing head-to-head with Manchester City, Liverpool and other teams.
Yes, they are spending a lot of money and this is not a David vs. Goliath story, but anyone who thinks it would be easy to overhaul City and Pep Guardiola seems to be in fairy tale land.
Arsenal need to find another way and that is what they are seeing now. They were eight games away from glory. If that leads to Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler then so be it.
But it would be unfair to paint them as anti-football, only good for set-pieces and wasting time, which was the perception after Arsenal’s hard-fought win over Brighton on Wednesday night.
Mikel Arteta sitting nicely (Image: Getty Images)
Join us on Facebook! For the latest news, analysis and more on our Mirror Football Facebook page
Arsenal have had some great performances this season. Arteta was full of praise for the former Argentina international, especially when they defeated Simeone’s Atletico 4-0 at the Emirates in October.
Add to that the second half against Bayern Munich, two 4-1 wins over Tottenham and the post-Christmas demolition of Aston Villa.
But in recent weeks, Arsenal have looked long-legged and tired, clearly running on empty as they compete on four fronts: the title race, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup.
It’s not free flowing. It was about winning ugly, breaking down, and crossing the line. The win at Brighton also yielded some interesting statistics from Opta.
Arsenal’s total restart time was 30 minutes and 51 seconds, the longest in a Premier League match this season. Ball was in play for 53 minutes and 58 seconds, or 53.5 percent of the 100 minutes and 54 seconds, which Opta said was the ninth-shortest of the season.
But interestingly, they are by no means the worst offenders. In fact, Sunderland, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Leeds are taking longer on average to restart after their respective breaks.
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone (Image: Alvaro Medranda/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
But Arsenal are doing exactly what they need to do. Gabriel was a giant on defense. So was Clown Hincapie. They were looking for a win that would close the gap by seven points.
Arsenal win their next three games against City first, and if they beat Everton at home (no easy feat), they will be 10 points clear (albeit with two games in hand) before kick-off against Guardiola’s side, who are fighting for their lives against West Ham.
Suddenly, it looked like the title was in Arsenal’s hands. And if it ends the season with a title, then the means must be justified.
It’s been 22 years since Arsenal last won the title. They did it in style during the 2003/04 Invincibles season. They played a beautiful game that year. However, there is more than one way to win.
And with tired legs and falling just short after finishing second in each of the past three seasons, they weren’t hoping for another second-place medal.
Arteta has been branded a bottler and now his biggest critics don’t like that he is trying to fight back. I can’t beat him. Until he won the title, of course.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
