Andoni Iraola
Posted inDaily News

AFC Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola on reunion with Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta #AFCB

October 2, 2023
Arteta’s Arsenal ended up comfortable 4-0 winners at Vitality Stadium, following goals from Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, and Ben White. A lot of the build-up to the fixture in the national press and on social media focused on Iraola and Arteta’s shared footballing past, the pair playing in the same Antiguoko team in their native Basque country. Aside from a single game together for Spain’s under-21s, it was the last time the pair crossed paths, prior to this summer’s meeting of all Premier League managers. Asked about the reunion following the game, Iraola responded: “Once the game starts, you forgot about these things. “You focus on the sporting side. I congratulated him and I will just talk to him right now as soon as I finish. “But during the game at the end, you forget about these things and then you can complete it.” Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is also from the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, as well as ex-Wolves manager Julien Lopetegui, who left the Premier League this summer.
Mikel Arteta Arsenal
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- What Mikel Arteta said about Brighton with Roberto De Zerbi #BHAFC

May 13, 2023
But there is no scope for his Arsenal side to drop points when the Seagulls go to the Emirates. William Saliba is once again missing from the Gunners’ back line with a back injury which has ruled him out in recent weeks, while left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) is also absent. Midfielder Mohamed Elneny and defender Takehiro Tomiyasu are out for the rest of the season with knee injuries. Arsenal boss Arteta said: “The way Brighton play under manager Roberto de Zerbi is remarkable. It is just a joy to watching them play. “What they have brought to the league is a different idea, a different way of playing and a different challenge to manage against. "What the manager has done with the team is incredible, so it will be a very tough match. "They pose an extremely tricky challenge, with the way they play, so we will have to handle the things they do, but it will be the same for them, managing the way we do it. "They have been ahead of other clubs in the way they have made decisions, the way they have developed players and recruited talent. “It's been really impressive, I think they have done extremely well." Arteta was being quizzed about contractual matters in the run-up to the weekend. He said: “Obviously where we are with each individual is probably different in terms of timing but the clarity is there,” he said of deals for players that may be in the offing. “We have communicated to each of them what the intentions are and we are trying to get that done as quickly as possible but respecting and not losing any focus on what is the real deal right now. “The moment there is anything to announce with any individual, we will do that as a club like we always do. It’s not the moment to talk about that.”
Mikel Arteta Arsenal
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Mikel Arteta admits win over Bournemouth was madness from start to finish #ARSENALFC

March 5, 2023
Gary O’Neil’s men threatened a major shock, his relegation-threatened side leading 2-0 against the Premier League leaders thanks to goals from Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi. But the Gunners roared back, equalising with Thomas Partey and Ben White on target, before Reiss Nelson smashed in a stunning winner in the final seconds of stoppage time. Reflecting on the 3-2 victory, which puts Arsenal back five points clear of Manchester City, boss Arteta said: “It was an extraordinary day, a beautiful experience at the end. Very dramatic, but worth living it because it was a great end to it. “Everybody is overwhelmed a little bit. “It was madness from the first second of the game. “Then you have to start to climb a mountain against 10 players behind the ball. We tried in every single way. “We didn’t score the goal and suddenly you are 2-0 down with a set play again.” He added: “After that, don’t lose the shape, don’t lose the discipline and start to do all the simple things right and try to score the first one. “We did that and we showed our maturity and our resilience to do that. “Once we’d done that, the atmosphere and the place changed the energy.”