ARSENAL icon Theo Walcott has revealed his former teammate Mikel Arteta gave him the best team talk ever before he became a manager.
Arteta has been Arsenal’s manager since 2019 and England legend Walcott has said he was always destined for a career in management.
The Spaniard took over the Gunners who were in desperate need of a rebuild.
He has since pulled together a young squad that finished second in the Premier League last term.
He returned to the Emirates having previously captained the Gunners to an FA Cup victory as a player.
Walcott, 34, has told Sky Sports that the greatest team talk he received was actually from Arteta.
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He said: “It was actually Mikel Arteta, he was playing for us at the time at Arsenal, it was when we were struggling and not making the top four.
“And he essentially called a meeting for the players only, and he just said it how it was, said a few truths, he said exactly what we needed to do.
“And then after that moment, we made fourth quite comfortably in the end.
“Essentially that inspired everyone, and I’m not surprised why he’s doing so well here at Arsenal.
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“That sort of moment alone was like ‘he’s a manager, meant to be’. For me, he’s made Arsenal into an absolute force now.”
The former midfielder was teammates with Arteta for five years at Arsenal and they won two FA Cups together.
The Spaniard spent 12 years in the Premier League playing for Everton and Arsenal.
He scored 35 goals in 209 games for the Toffees.
And Arteta followed that up with 16 strikes in 150 appearances for Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Walcott has even played under Arsene Wenger and Carlo Ancelotti meaning his thoughts about Arteta are a big praise.
The Spaniard’s ability to motivate his players and make a young more resilient squad has been clear after their 1-0 victory this weekend to Everton.
Arsenal had failed to earn a point against Everton away since October 2017.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
