It was a smiling and very complimentary Mikel Arteta who spoke of his compatriot and future opponent Luis Enrique on the eve of the Arsenal/PSG match in the Champions League.
Launched into the pros at PSG in January 2001, where he stayed for a year and a half on loan before signing for Glasgow Rangers, Mikel Arteta will experience an evening “special” Tuesday evening during the clash between his Arsenal and his former club. Present at a press conference on the eve of the match, the Spaniard did not hide his excitement.
“These are the kind of matches and evenings we want to experience against an incredible opponent. We are ready and eager. It’s a very good test for all of us.”confided Arteta, who was also asked about Luis Enrique, who was an executive of the Barça first team when he himself was a great hope of the Catalan club.
“You can tell right away it’s his team.”
“I have great admiration for him, Arteta told the media this Monday morning. An incredible personality. Enormous charisma, enormous energy. Very close to young players. And what I like about him, as a player and as a coach, is that his fingerprints are everywhere… You can immediately know that it’s his team, that PSG is now his team. The way his players behave, the way they counter-attack, the way they dominate the match, the way they don’t give up until the end… He has this incredible power. We saw it in all his clubs and also with Spain. His approach to life, to his profession, is something inspiring and I learned a lot of things thanks to him. »
“He looks you in the eyes and tells you what he thinks”
At a time when he made the decision to sideline Ousmane Dembélé for the clash against Arsenal, Luis Enrique was also praised by Arteta for the quality of his management: “He is very frank and direct. He looks you in the eyes and tells you what he thinks. And I think the players appreciate that. You may like him more or less depending on how things are going, but the way his former players talk about him… They all say the same thing and I have two or three Spanish internationals in my team who have him rubbed shoulders. They all loved playing for him. »
Luis Enrique will be at a press conference this Monday from 5:45 p.m. in the company of a player. A press conference which will be followed live video on the site.
