Louis Saha has warned Mikel Arteta needs to start winning major trophies for his Arsenal side to be recognised as one of the great Premier League dynasties.
Almost five years into his reign at the Emirates, Arteta has still only one significant pot - the FA Cup in 2020 - to show for his rebuild of the Gunners. And despite consecutive near-misses with the title, Saha - who played with Arteta for three years at Everton - warned: ‘The best managers are addicted to winning trophies.”
The former France striker, whose 20 international caps were spread over eight years, told cryptocasinosuk.net that Arteta had “taken Arsenal up several levels.”
But Saha said: “I wouldn’t say that Mikel Arteta was born to be a manager, at least that wasn’t something I thought when he captained Everton, and I played with him.
"I’m not surprised that he has gone on to be a very good manager, though. He was involved in almost every single detail at Everton. He was really tactically aware about things, and he wanted to know as much as possible about the reason David Moyes would make certain decisions.
“Arteta and Moyes, they were always speaking. You could tell that he had a football brain. He liked to talk about football and was a good communicator.
“Even though I played with him and know him well, it’s still a bit strange for me to see him as the manager we see now every week with Arsenal. I think what he’s achieved at Arsenal over the last few years has been spectacular.
“He’s established a playing style, and he’s improved players. He’s taken the club up several levels. He made some big decisions early.
“I was surprised by the ruthless approach used to handle the (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang situation, and he did something similar with (Mesut) Ozil, which couldn’t have been easy for him because he played with him. He’s over-delivered on the initial expectations that I had for him.”
Saha, speaking to CryptoCasinos, also warned: “For a club like Arsenal, and for Mikel himself, he will want to win something. He’s got so close with his group of players, the next step is lifting that Premier League title or winning the Champions League.
“The best managers are addicted to winning trophies. There’s no doubt that we’re watching a great Arsenal team this season, but for this team to be recognized as one of the best in Premier League history, they need to add some trophies to the cabinet. That is the only thing that is missing at the moment.
“He’s shown that he’s one of the best by challenging Manchester City for the title in back-to-back seasons. I think to do what he did, that’s an unbelievable achievement.
"I’m really impressed with his ability as a coach and winning a trophy wouldn’t change that - everyone can see how good Mikel Arteta is.”