“I prefer players who ask for more than they can take, but if you think you can do it, don’t put limits on them.” These were the words of Mikel Arteta when Emile Smith Rowe signed a new contract and asked for the prized number 10 shirt.
I always found those public quotes interesting because of Arteta’s tacit admission that he didn’t necessarily feel Smith Rowe was ready for the responsibility that comes with the number. I was surprised because I expected him to downplay that at the time, after all, it’s just a number and coaches tend to take pragmatic lines on this sort of thing, at least publicly.
Smith Rowe joined Arteta’s squad in December 2020 and quickly became a key player for the team, turning Arsenal’s fortunes around after a slump in which the team lacked creativity. His ability to play between the lines transformed the team.
After scoring against West Brom in May 2021, capping off a six-month fine, Arteta remained circumspect in his public pronouncements. “He’s having an incredible season since he started playing in December. But he is scoring his first goal in the Premier League. An incredible season for an Arsenal number 10 means he needs to score 15 goals and give 10 assists.” (He Achieved 11 in 2021-22.)
In the Amazon documentary ‘All or Nothing’, Arteta discussed Smith Rowe’s loan to Huddersfield in the second half of the 2019-20 season. “When we sent him out on loan, I said ‘I’m not going to watch your games.’
“I just want to hear what people say about you when you’re there and how they’re going to describe you, not as a player, but as a person.” This is very much in line with what Folarin Balogun said about his loan to Reims in France.
“Before I moved, Mikel said that he wanted me to develop as a man. It was like an open answer and for me to interpret what he meant by developing as a man. But moving abroad, I’m beginning to learn what he meant. It doesn’t just mean on the court but also off the court.”
None of this is revolutionary, of course. Countless Premier League clubs send many young talents on loan to help talented young players develop outside of their comfort zones. When I was 16 years old, I took a weekend job at a market stall.
I wanted a job that would allow me to spend my afternoons playing soccer; waking up at 5:30am on Saturdays and Sundays so I could finish early enough to go to Highbury was a price worth paying. But I was a very shy and introverted teenager.
I came into my first day quite relaxed, assuming that the part would be easy for me. Nothing like that, after a basic 15 minute induction I was told to immediately start yelling at nearby customers about the reduced price promotion on fresh cherries. I was absolutely terrified of the idea and believed, falsely, that this would come much later after some gentle relaxation.
I hesitated for what seemed like forever, I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared in my entire life. But in my brain, something clicked: “You literally have two choices, either you do this and you do it now, or you get fired 20 minutes into your first day, which is worse?” So I did it downstairs, lame at first, but soon got used to it.
It was a suitable time to sink or swim. Now public speaking is a big part of my life, it was probably the most valuable education of my life. Balogun and Smith Rowe before him had a similar type of sink or swim induction. However, I found Arteta’s tough-love approach to Smith Rowe in particular very interesting.
Following Saturday’s loss to Juventus, Arteta said of Smith Rowe’s injury rehabilitation: “He hasn’t been able to train in recent days, but I hope he can start next week. He’s been out for a while now, he needs some time to get back up to speed.
“We need him very much and we are going to receive him with open arms, because he is a very important player for us. We need him fit on the pitch.” I think there is a strong element of Arteta explaining that the club wants to take its time with ESR and not rush it. This injury has been going on for almost three years.
I may be overanalysing, but I felt urgency in those quotes, a form of defiance peppered in the syntax: “We really need it…we need it fit in the field.” I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Arteta sounded testy, but I think his words were seasoned with a bit of tough love.
That’s in keeping with his approach and his other pronouncements on Smith Rowe, but not just Emile, I think “tough love” is a big part of his approach to younger players. No coach can have a single philosophy for player psychology, but most will fall somewhere on the scale between stern and nurturing.
When Arteta came on for Nuno Tavares 34 minutes into the FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest in January, Arteta didn’t mind coddling the player in his post-match press conference. “I have to make the decision to try to improve the team’s performance when it’s not going in another direction.”
Albert Sambi Lokonga has expressed his frustration at his lack of playing opportunities on a couple of occasions, when asked publicly about it Arteta was also unwilling to put an arm around Sambi’s shoulders.
“He needs to show that it is what he asks for, that he can produce in the field.” None of this is especially dictatorial or shocking, it is in keeping with the way Arteta talks about almost all of his players in public, he is an intense and serious character and he wants to implant that seriousness and intensity in his players.
After three years in the role, we probably know Mikel a bit better, even if memories of his playing days are reasonably fresh. In the past, this slight nastiness in the way he talks about younger or developing players has probably been misunderstood.
Many of us, myself included, detected a coolness from the manager towards William Saliba during his loan spell in Ligue 1. In January 2021, the club sanctioned the player’s loan spell at Nice and Arteta’s contemporary explanation makes a lot of sense.
“I was always very aware when he came back (in the summer of 2020 from St. Etienne) that starting a relationship with a new manager, a new club, new teammates where you don’t have playing time is really difficult. and I think it is detrimental for the future.
“I want to protect the player we signed and the future we have with him and the best way to do it is by giving him minutes to play.” In essence, Arteta felt the distance with Saliba was healthy until he was ready to be a fixture on the team. Fast forward 18 months and Saliba has started every Premier League game so far this season.
Many of us interpret a deliberate cooling off between Arteta and Saliba as coldness. Likewise, many Arsenal fans detected a forbidding attitude from the manager towards Gabriel Martinelli, which feels like a long time ago as the Brazilian prepares to sign a new long-term contract with the club.
When asked during the fall of 2021 why Martinelli wasn’t playing, Arteta explained the need for the player to be realistic and patient: “Sometimes he doesn’t understand my decisions, but the only reason I make them is to help him. He has to improve when he doesn’t play. You have to know how to suffer when you’re on the bench.”
It’s another example of Arteta’s tough-love approach to his young players as he seeks to create an environment of responsibility. I also found the coach’s comments fascinating after Gabriel Jesus’ cameo from the bench during a Europa League game at home to Bodo/Glimt.
The performance had started to falter in the second half as Arsenal looked to cruise to victory. Arteta introduced Jesús from the bench and immediately provided an outstanding assist. After the game, the coach was very clear that he wanted his players to be disciples of Jesus.
“It doesn’t matter how long I play, when I play, in what position. He always gives absolutely everything. He has won it all in the last five years, imagine what the rest have to do, so follow him. It was a very direct and meaningful message, I think, because Arsenal played a second team that night. It’s clear to me that he wasn’t impressed with his team taking their foot off the pedal.
Towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s reign, some people scathingly referred to the club’s isolated culture as ‘Colney’s nursery’. Arteta has liked to take a more ‘either shit or get out of the pot’ approach and it’s an approach he has no intention of softening for his young talents.
