Mikel Arteta reveals Jose Mourinho 'more than influenced' his managerial style | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that his tactics have been "more than" influenced by former rival Jose Mourinho.

While the Gunners had typically been labelled as an evangelical footballing side who are soft defensively from the second half of Arsene Wenger's reign onwards, Arteta has sought to flip that narrative and make them one of the Premier League's more aggressive teams.

Arsenal's 'dark arts' were a major talking point of Sunday's 2-2 draw at Manchester City, with the visitors defending deep for the entire second half after Leandro Trossard received a red card.

This style of play has drawn comparisons to Mourinho's old Chelsea teams, among others he has coached, who were notorious for their defensive tactics and ability to grind out results in big games.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Arteta was asked whether he has been influenced by Mourinho having come up against him as both a player and a manager.

"More than influence," the Gunners boss said. "I think you learn a lot from other top coaches and you just try to understand why they have been successful, what really touches that team that makes it really special and very consistent - especially to win at this level.

"At this level, and with the amount of games we are playing, you might have an idea, you think the game can go in that direction, but if goes in a different direction, do you have the ability to adapt and be happy now playing that game? Because that is the level we are in."

Arteta and Mourinho faced off as rivals in 2020 and 2021 / NICK POTTS/GettyImages

During his time as Tottenham Hotspur head coach, Mourinho was complimentary of Arteta during a spell in which Arsenal were languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League.

"I want to give a good word to Mikel because he gave us a very difficult game," Mourinho said after Spurs beat Arsenal 2-0 in December 2020.

"Tactically they are very good. They gave us problems.

"I can imagine tomorrow the headlines will be about them not being in a good position in the table but I believe with these players, with Mikel, Arsenal will be Arsenal again."