Mourinho's honest thoughts on Arteta after rubbishing Arsenal's title chances
Jose Mourinho believes Mikel Arteta is the man to restore Arsenal to their former glory - but still expects them to be beaten to the Premier League title.
The Gunners currently sit top of the table following the weekend’s win against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium. They could potentially extend that advantage as they come up against title rivals Liverpool this weekend.
Despite sitting pretty, Mourinho does not have any faith that the North London side will be celebrating come May. Speaking on The Obi One podcast, the Portuguese said: “I would say Man City 51 [percent], and Liverpool 49 [percent]."
Asked whether Arsenal are in the running, Mourinho simply replied: "Nah,” before adding: “Rivalry apart, I would like them to win. Of course, Chelsea is not going to win. It is out of the question.
“Of course Manchester United is not going to win it too, I don't speak about Man Utd. So it is between these three and out of these three I would like Arsenal to win it. But 51, 49. And I say 51, 49 because when the accumulation of matches are coming Man City has two teams.”
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Despite not being confident of the Gunners’ title chances, Mourinho remains a big fan of Arteta’s work at the Emirates Stadium. Speaking during his time at North London rivals Tottenham, the Portuguese hailed the Spaniard and suggested he could be the one to get the club back challenging for silverware.
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“Tactically, they are very good, they were very well organised, they were building with four, defending with five,” Mourinho said after a previous derby showdown with Arteta. “Then in the second half, they tried to find triangles on the side and they gave us problems, problems that we managed to resolve because the players in this moment have good tactical culture.
“And even above that, they have an incredible spirit, but they gave us problems because they are a good team and he [Arteta] is a good coach.”
He added: “I can imagine tomorrow there, that the headlines will be about them not being in a good position on the table. But I believe with this players, with Mikel, Arsenal will be Arsenal again.”
Following Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool this weekend, the Gunners face a couple of London derbies over the festive period. They welcome West Ham to the Emirates after Christmas ahead of a trip to Fulham on New Years’ Eve.
Amid Mourinho’s prediction, he will hope to hold onto his role with Italian giants Roma. He came under huge pressure this weekend with a 2-0 defeat to Cagliari - leaving them eighth in the Serie A table.
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