Mikel Arteta has opened up on his transition from being Arsenal's head coach to being handed the title of manager during his time at the club. It comes after controversy erupted at rival clubs Chelsea and Manchester United, where changes in the coaching staff have been made in the past week.
Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim both publicly revealed their frustration over situations at their respective clubs, with a lack of direct control over the direction they were heading in. The latter made it clear that he wanted to be the manager, and not the head coach, as part of an outburst to the media, raising questions over the direct impact of the two roles.
It's a different situation from what Arsenal have encountered, though, having named Arteta as their head coach back in December 2019, only to hand him the role of manager in September 2020. Speaking to the press ahead of his side's clash with Liverpool about that change, he said: "It was different at the time when they proposed to change their role and what they thought about in the areas that I could help probably more than they expected at the beginning.
"But, at the end, it's about the relationships and the people because we have formed great teams with very different qualities and some that have been more on certain things and when there is somebody that is much better than me on that, I let them do it. So for me the title doesn't really reflect the way we operate daily.
"I think it's more important the people and the morale within that people to really understand that let's give each other the things that he can master and make us much better and the rest we just support that idea."
With that change in title, Arteta revealed it gave him a boost, as he added: "Yeah [it gave a confidence boost], because I didn't demand it, I didn't ask for it, and they believed it was the right thing to do. But again since then because we have to work with different people with the changes that we have in recent years I think when you have a leader which is ownership in this case it's Stan [Kroenke] and Josh [Kroenke], and Josh is very close to that with very clear alignment to all of us what he wants to do, how he wants to achieve it and creates that space for everybody I think it's very easy to work like this."
Arteta was asked directly about the situation surrounding Amorim's exit, after part-owner of Man Utd, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, had previously compared his situation to that of the Arsenal boss. He said: "I can only talk about what I have experienced and it's always sad to see a colleague losing his job obviously.
"We know where we are and, yeah, I think you that need support from the ownership - and you need support from your staff, from players. At the end of the day you need to win a lot of football matches to stay in the job and that's the reality and the nature of our job."
Arsenal had traditionally used the manager role but, after Arsene Wenger's 22-year stay at the club ended, they initially opted for the head coach's title. That was handed to Unai Emery in 2018, which saw him move on quickly, with Arteta eventually parachuted into the role himself.
The change to manager showed the confidence Arsenal had in their manager, which is now being paid off with a team challenging at the very top. Vinai Venkatesham, who was the chief executive at the time before his move to rivals Tottenham, explained the decision to the official Arsenal website.
"The last nine months have probably been the most challenging nine months in Arsenal's history - and we've been around for 134 years. Despite those challenges, Mikel has been driving this football club forward," he said. "He has lifted the spirits and lifted the energy here at London Colney and with Arsenal fans all across the world. He's doing an absolutely phenomenal job.
"The other thing that's clear is that right from the day he walked through the door, he was doing much more than being our head coach. So we're going to be changing his job title going forward.
"He'll move from head coach to be first-team manager. That's recognition of what he's been doing from the day he walked in the door, but also where we see his capabilities."
Things continue to change but, in recent years, Arteta has been that one constant who has continued to drive the team forward. With a contract until 2027, there is some question marks over whether the manager will continue in his post beyond the next 18 months.
However, the short-term focus remains getting that first Premier League title triumph over the line - that with the Gunners in prime position to do so in early January.
