Thread by @nonewthing

—His general philosophy of adding big amounts of athleticism to the squad, for starters. You can't compete at a top, top level without it, especially in the Premier League. Here's an old quote from The Athletic:

(A THREAD on Arteta's talent ID).

https://twitter.com/alexfrco/status/1410004941284986886

—Ever since he came in, the most solid of all our transfer links (widely reported) have been Gabriel, Partey, Stones, Bissouma, Buendia, Willian, Aouar, Onana, Maddison, White, etc. They are generally (regarded as) pretty good players who mostly (will) improve us.

—Even the sideways Willian signing was pretty much the perfect profile for what Arteta wanted on the wings; creative LW in the halfspaces and wide, play-stretching RW on the flanks. Basically, his targets are specific and planned for a specific system. Means most will work out.

—Ben White is another pretty awesome target. Knowing how extremely reliant the system is on our build-up play, we need pretty much good-to-great ballplaying CBs and White profiles as the next great thing in the production line of ballplaying CBs.

—All of the bums are leaving or close to. Even his own signing in Willian. He's unafraid to wield the axe and move on from players who don't have what's needed. Since when has Arsenal had such a massive clear-out like this? You could project Fergie-like remorselessness from that.

—It's not just the talent ID, it's also the talent management. Contrary to popular conceptions, Mikel has managed the talent at his behest as close to perfection as he could.

We can start with Holding and Chambers. He's maximized their output and transfer values.

Tierney of course has already spoken out about how Arteta has managed him pretty well. And Tierney isn't the type to bullshit anyone.

Willock is also an incredible example. Despite his talent, Joe's awareness in midfield has not always been the best and what did Arteta do?

He played him as the No. 10 (a prized position and role) for as many games as possible. It may not look like it but that zonal familiarity will (or has already) theoretically work(ed) wonders on Joe's 360° football going forward. At the very worst, it smoothens Willock's edges.

Why did Arteta stick with playing Joe Willock as a 10 despite fan complaints is a question that Arteta's doubters must answer. The answer is primarily related to Willock's development.

And, oh, he rates Joe Willock, too. Though that's not huge as pretty much every coach does.

Gabriel Martinelli is another one. Injury or not, Gabriel Martinelli has managed to improve his game this season thanks to Arteta's insistence on not sticking with him just as a runner. His creative profile has improved massively and he actually has rhythm to his game now.

There's Bukayo Saka, of course. His management of his talent has been incredible. Apart from the obvious positional training and off-ball development, Arteta has successfully tested Saka's ability to be a main asset in Arsenal's future by giving him keys to carry the attack.

Most managers would not risk Saka burning out as much as Arteta did, but when you've got a young talent like him, the most ambitious thing a coach can do is to see what the lad is really made of, to test him as far as you can. That's showing ambition with a possible WC talent.

As Arteta said, there are (and were) too many players at Arsenal. The load is 'unmanageable' and you can't perfectly handle everything as well. But with how he used Auba, Laca and Pepe (his positional change), Arteta displayed prodigious qualities at talent management.

His management of Xhaka's talent is also extremely impressive. Fans can't see it because they don't look at these things. Even Arsene Wenger struggled to find the best use of Xhaka, something Arteta resolved resoundingly almost on arrival. You don't think others are watching?

Arteta's talent management speaks for itself. Got the best he could considering the circumstances out of so many players, especially our defenders. At one point, both Sokratis and Mustafi actually looked solid under Arteta in the first few months of his reign.

The Saliba situation is a mix of bad circumstances. It's not really a situation if Saliba knuckles down as the boy is a big talent. However, talent or not, Saliba seriously struggled with his performances in training and for the u-23. Based off COVID-19 and everything, another

loan for him was not a wrong decision. At worst, he got regular minutes in a top league which is rare for very young defenders. Fans want the boy to just play 40 games next season because of the wonderkid fantasy but it doesn't work like that. He has to earn it a club like ours.

Even if he shows he's deserving to play every minute for us next season, we still need defensive quality based on what the system demands. Him, White and Gabriel is a wonderful mix of CBs to pick from. Fosters healthy competition. Him and Gabriel alone is very poor for our level.

If you know how + what to look (for), Mikel Arteta is a pretty amazing talent manager when you consider the circumstances. People forget that he is the youngest manager in the Premier League and one of the youngest in top European football. His composure alone is amazing.

How many older, more experienced managers would have cracked under the pressure Arteta has been? Emery did. And what did Arteta do under pressure? Made moves that rang with quality (system change + Saka/Pepe roles + etc). People suffer from tunnel vision.

Fans can't hold on to perspective. They can't focus on the right things. Rather, a lot of energy is spent on focusing on perceived mistakes. If that's how everyone were treated in their normal lives, most would crack and call it unfair. That's Arteta's 24/7 reality.

Ironically, Mikel Arteta could turn out like his very own players: talented, mistreated, overly criticized, leaves to a better place and shows all of his WC qualities while Arsenal fans blame anyone but themselves.

I wouldn't, right now, exchange Nagelsmann for Arteta.

Both of Nagelsmann and Arteta are more similar than people know. Nagelsmann had the privilege of being in the deliberate German coach development pipeline and Red Bull's as well. Meanwhile, Arteta's first big job is Emery's Arsenal. I am grateful for the patience of our execs.

Nagelsmann, a huge coaching prospect I rate a lot, has had the privileges of developing his tactical ideals in the dark at Hoffeinheim. Arteta went straight into the deep at Arsenal in the harshest, toughest league in the world and came out with an FA Cup and Community Shield.

It is all there. The talent ID and management, tactical ambition, trophy winning potential, the ease in the limelight, the charisma and composure, the non-discriminating talent selection (Onana, Partey, Lokonga and all those black folks who would never play for Pep).

Ironically, Mikel Arteta might just come to personify the most divisive of his players, a kind of Granit Xhaka of a manager who fans can't appreciate and will only leave to become a huge success elsewhere while fans blame anyone but themselves for the situation.