West Ham boss David Moyes heaps praise on Mikel Arteta

West Ham boss David Moyes heaps praise on Mikel Arteta for carving out his ‘own career’ at Arsenal after years of learning from ‘the best’ – as he prepares to share the dugout with his old Everton colleague on Sunday

  • David Moyes lauded Mikel Arteta’s achievements ahead of this weekend’s clash
  • The Scottish boss managed Arteta as a player during his time at Goodison Park
  • Arsenal are in pole position to win their first Premier League title in two decades 

Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger may come to mind when considering who inspired Mikel Arteta to become the title-chasing manager he now is, but do not forget about David Moyes.

Arteta plated under Moyes at Everton between 2005 and 2011, before he was reluctantly sold to Arsenal. It was under the Scot that the Spaniard learned how to man-manage players, saying he was so exceptional at dealing with individuals that he would run ‘through a brick wall’ for him.

Now, Arteta and Moyes will meet at the London Stadium today with West Ham looking to puncture Arsenal’s Premier League charge. Ahead of their clash, Moyes said: ‘I’ve had loads of players who’ve been coming to see me at West Ham, come for dinner or come into the training ground.

‘But Mikel’s on his own career now. And he’s also been an apprentice to probably one of one of the finest managers, if not the best, in Pep. He’s had a good background.

‘He’s worked under Arsene Wenger, who was an exceedingly good manager as well. So hopefully he’s on the right path. He’s a good boy. And he’s got a chance of being a champion this year.

David Moyes had heaped praise on Mikel Arteta ahead of Arsenal’s trip to West Ham on Sunday

Arteta would have learned plenty from the former Everton manager during his playing career

The Spanish head coach is on course to win Arsenal’s first Premier League title in two decades

‘We don’t talk much, because it’s business, you know? But I’ve always had a strong relationship with Mikel. Letting him leave Everton to go to Arsenal was difficult because he was such a good player for us. But that was what happened at the time, and that’s what happens in football.’

West Ham may be in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League – where they will face Gent in the second leg at 1-1 – but the Premier League is their top priority.

Moyes feels his team are overdue a win against a Big Six side, given they have yet to beat one this season. ‘Last year we did a really good job,’ Moyes said. ‘We didn’t win all the games, but we pushed them really hard. 

‘So the idea is to do that in the remaining games. We’ve got some big teams coming to the London stadium in the next month or two.’


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