Every time Mikel Arteta turns up at the Emirates Stadium statues and murals are there to remind him of Arsenal‘s past glories. And on Monday night a living legend in the away dugout will also be in his line of vision.
Patrick Vieira’s return to the club where he won three Premier Leagues and four FA Cups in the glory days of Arsene Wenger underlines just how far Arsenal manager Arteta has to go to emulate success Gunners fans once took for granted.
And given that Arteta himself is on a lengthy list of midfielders who have found it impossible to match Vieira’s midfield achievements since Crystal Palace‘s new manager departed in 2005 he could be forgiven for refusing to go down memory lane. Instead the Spaniard attempted to provide some context.
“When you get that comparison you need to accept it straight away that if you don’t win three or four Premier League titles you will always be worse than the previous one because he has already done it and you have just started,” he said.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
- Date: Monday 18 October
- Kick-off time: 8pm
- TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League
- Stream: Sky Go app
“So for three or four years prepare yourself that you’re not going to be as good with every comparison because it’s impossible to achieve it in three weeks and then just focus on what you are as a player, what you are asked by your manager to do. Be yourself and don’t try to be anyone else.
“Obviously you don’t just need an individual you need a squad and that really good generation and in this context probably the best ever generation in Premier League history to become champions of this league because the points that they used to have – today it wouldn’t be enough even to win the Premier League.
“That’s very significant as well but that has to be the aim. The club has done it in the past and we are looking to do it again.”
Vieira was also forgiving of his successors’s shortcomings as they didn’t have Thierry Henry or Dennis Bergkamp in front of them, or a defence featuring Tony Adams, Sol Campbell and Martin Keown.
“When I was playing I had Emmanuel Petit and Gilberto next to me, and Edu in the midfield. That was a really good partnership,” he said.
“I had Dennis or Thierry ahead of me, Sol and Martin and Tony behind me. They all made my job even easier so it’s difficult to be critical of players who maybe didn’t have the same help around them.”
Granit Xhaka, the latest to try to fill Vieira’s shoes in midfield, is Arsenal’s only absentee, although Gabriel Martinelli may miss out after picking up a knock in training.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3n60Vzs
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