Mikel Arteta exposed Arsene Wenger weakness with Arsenal demand that said it all

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This ex-Arsenal star says Mikel Arteta demonstrated managerial qualities at the club under Arsene Wenger years before taking charge

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has revealed that Mikel Arteta effectively operated as Arsenal manager while still featuring as a player under Arsene Wenger. The Spaniard was appointed Gunners boss in 2019.

Oxlade-Chamberlain initially arrived at the Emirates in 2011 after catching the eye at Southampton, spending six years under Wenger before departing for Liverpool. He currently plays for Celtic.

The 32-year-old shared the dressing room with Arteta for five seasons, long before the Spaniard was entrusted with the top job at Arsenal. Arteta has his team in pole position for the Premier League title following several impressive campaigns.

Yet even prior to Arteta embarking on his managerial career, Oxlade-Chamberlain has disclosed that his former team-mate displayed the authority and vision of a manager while still playing for Wenger.

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When asked on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet, whether Arteta was tactically more advanced than Wenger even during his playing days, Oxlade-Chamberlain responded: "Yeah, probably.

"I think now you can see it and obviously I've just trained with those boys before I went to Celtic for three months and some of the stuff I was seeing and learning was an eye-opener.

"For me, it's what we always imagined that Pep [Guardiola] team [at Man City] was operating on, because even at Liverpool, we were maybe a bit simpler and our philosophies were different.

"But I can kind of see that stuff that Mikel's doing, every detail is crazy and as a player he probably took more pride in that than the average player while still playing.

"He started analysis meetings for us because you know, Arsene comes from a different generation. It was all about us and if we take care of what we're meant to take care of, we should win.

"When it got to the point where you're playing in a big game Mikel was like, 'Boss, we want to know what they're doing from a corner.' We didn't really do that.

"So Mikel sort of forced that in as a player. We started watching the opposition more because before we'd just see it on the paper on the board and the boss would just start drawing lines.

"When you think about that, the detail that goes into it now is way more. Mikel was already starting to do that and we're talking 12, 13 years ago."

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