Prior to Arsenal’s decisive Premier League clash against Manchester United, ESPN Brasil today features a nice interview with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
Besides speaking about his admiration for Brazilian football, the coach had a lot to say about his work with Brazilians in London, which goes from director Edu Gaspar to some of the players in the squad.
Arteta has big respect and admiration for Edu, saying that his support has been crucial for the Spaniard to succeed with the Gunners.
“From the moment they brought Edu in, it was an absolute success. Someone who was a player and was absurdly successful at the club, who knew the culture and had a clear vision of how to win. He changed my life, because he had the courage to trust me without having been a coach, at such a big club and at a difficult time. You have to have a lot of personality to do that,” Arteta told ESPN Brasil’s João Castelo-Branco.
Arteta also talked about the Brazilian players he has in Arsenal’s squad, who are all called Gabriel. He talked about each one individually, with some special attention towards Gabriel Jesus, who hasn’t been getting much playing time lately. Despite rumours about his departure, the coach makes sure to take the situation calmly.
“I don’t know if I’m collecting Gabis, but I’m collecting marvellous people. When you try to design a footballer, all three have great things. They have very different personalities, but an ambition, a hunger to win, to be better… They helped us a lot.”
“A centre-back has to have presence and someone at his side who understands him. I think he’s taken a very important step on a personal level, in terms of maturity, family stability, which has helped him become more serene, and on top of that he’s started to meet Saliba by his side. It’s no coincidence that he’s getting better all the time.
“They (Jesus and Martinelli) are happy with where we are as a team, but of course everyone here wants to play more. But these are decisions, things I feel at every moment. They’ve both been super important this season. And that’s life: when you get the chance, you have to take it and show it on the pitch.
“He (Jesus) played a lot here. He’s played a lot with me. And he’s been very important. But he’s had an injury, he’s lost his momentum, the team has picked up and you have to respect that. But that’s part of it, the time will come when he’ll gain more space and be important again.”
Arsenal are visiting Old Trafford to play Manchester United on Sunday, then only having the match against Everton left. To get the Premier League title, the Gunners must win both matches and watch Manchester City slip in one of their remaining games.
