Mikel Arteta relishes prospect of PSG homecoming in UCL as Arsenal sqaure off against Paris St Germain tonight.
Mikel Arteta, the current Arsenal manager is relishing the prospect of facing off against the club he earned his keep as a player.
When Arteta thought back to the time that defined his career—the people and places, the exhilarating sense of possibilities—his eyes gleamed. He had spent plenty of his press conference time last week trying to deal with the consequences from the furious 2-2 draw at Manchester City. There were just good vibes at this place.
Arriving from Barcelona B as an 18-year-old on an 18-month loan in January 2001. In a 1-1 Champions League match against Milan at San Siro, he made his debut for the team and as a professional player.
Arteta has never faced PSG as a player or manager. He knows what to expect because he knows Luis Enrique.
“I am a huge admirer of him,” Arteta says. “He has huge charisma, huge energy. He was always very supportive with the young players [at Barcelona]. What I love about him is that, wherever he has been as a player, as a manager, his fingerprints are all over the place.
“You can see at PSG that it’s his team. They have a clear intention as to how they want to dominate the ball. When they don’t have it they want it straight back. They are really aggressive and they confront you. But that is Luis. Everywhere he plays, against any opponent and in any context, that is how he does it.”
Arteta is scheduled to be without Ben White. The defender has missed Arsenal’s last two matches with a groin issue and he did not exercise on Monday afternoon. Following Saturday’s 4-2 victory over Leicester at home, Riccardo Calafiori experienced “emotional” symptoms due to a muscle ache. He participated in the training.