Edu was a happy man after the club extended Mikel Arteta’s contract until the end of the 2024/25 season.
The technical director said Mikel possessed the three main characteristics he looks for in a manager – good communication, a strong grasp of tactics and man management – as well as a host of other attributes.
Edu spoke to Arsenal Media at the Emirates Stadium after watching the boss sign his deal. Here’s what he said…
On Mikel’s new contract…
It’s brilliant, I am very pleased for him, we as a club as well are very excited to have him for a much longer period. So let’s enjoy him a little bit more because he’s doing a great job and he deserves it.
On his key attributes as a manager…
He has a lot of them to be fair. To be next to him and start to know him even more when you work with him every day, he has a lot of them. I always say to be a very good manager you need three good characteristics. I think he has all of them. You need to be a good communicator, like he is. He needs to be a guy who controls the tactics and understand the game very well. And to manage people. That’s the three key points needed to be a very good manager. Of course there are a lot more as well, but those are the main ones, which he controls very much. That’s why he’s doing well and is a very good manager.
On why we are doing it now…
There are a lot of reasons why. First of all we can put our plan in place, and secondly it’s important to show everyone where we want to go as a club. We are going to face a big summer again, it’s important to have our manager in here because people are asking us ‘what about his future? What about the team? This season how are we going to play?’ Then we can prove that we are continuing with this manager and keep playing the way we are. So that helps us a lot. I think the timing will be perfect, I really believe the message will be a big lift to everyone. To the fans, to the club, to the players, to Mikel. I think it will be brilliant and I’m looking forward to it.
On how his relationship is developing with Mikel…
I think the relationship has to be the way we are today, with a lot of respect, be open with each other. Sometimes we are going to be facing challenging conversations, but as long as we come with respect, be open and transparent, we’ll be fine. We know the responsibility we have in front of us, and to keep our relationship the way we are today will be important for me, for him, but even more for the club.
On the big games coming up…
Yes let’s go! I’m looking forward to it, we’ve got a good momentum, let’s keep it like this and enjoy the moment. To be where we are at the moment, we have to enjoy it.
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