After back-to-back 2–0 wins over Athletic Bilbao and Olympiacos, Arsenal face their toughest Champions League test yet as Atletico Madrid visit the Emirates.
It’s only the third time the two clubs have met; the last occasion being the 2018 Europa League semi-final when Diego Simeone’s side outmanoeuvred Arsene Wenger in the Frenchman’s final weeks in charge.
Remarkably, Simeone is still at the helm. Fourteen years on, he remains the heartbeat of Atleti, having turned down repeated Premier League overtures to extend his reign in the Metropolitano dugout. It’s a tenure that commands respect – not least from Mikel Arteta, whose intensity on the touchline has often drawn comparisons with the Argentine.
“I think what he’s done since he got to Atletico has been outstanding,” said Arteta on Monday afternoon.
“Not only what he has achieved but the way he’s done it. I think the identity that he has created to the club, to the team, the spirit, I think they are very simple and clear to identify and that’s because the manager is very much [responsible for] them.
“That’s extremely difficult to achieve for a short period of time and to do it for 14 years, I think he’s been there now, he’s done something incredible so yeah, a pleasure to meet him.”
Arteta himself is approaching six years in the Arsenal dugout — a tenure that quietly puts him fourth among Europe’s longest-serving managers. Ahead of him sit Pep Guardiola, Simeone, and Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt, who tops the list after 18 years in charge.
Does Arteta see Simeone’s staying power as an inspiration?
“Obviously he is someone that I look up to and learn from in many situations, and what is for me outstanding is his passion. I think for how long he’s been in the game and in the same club, with the same players, how you still have that handle [on things] and that capacity to transmit such an energy and willingness to win.
“It’s a very tough environment that we live in, and to keep convincing players you have to be extraordinarily well, I don’t know him personally but everything that I heard about him is that he’s so good at doing that, that’s one of the reasons why you are able to sustain at that level.”
Asked what makes Simeone’s teams so hard to play against, Arteta was clear.
“First of all, the willingness to win. You can sense that in every single ball, in every single yard, the way they play, so it’s about how they compete and then after how they play.
“I think they are two very different things, and in order to have to analyse what they are, the level of organisation is really high, the level of discipline is really high and then they have acquired a lot of talent throughout the years that are very specific for the needs and the way they want to play and they are very, very good at exploiting those opportunities.”
Simeone and Atleti have become inseparable – not just because of the silverware (two La Ligas, a Copa del Rey, two Europa Leagues and a pair of Super Cups) but because he embodies the club’s culture and standards.
Having done much the same in rebuilding Arsenal’s identity after the drift of the post-Wenger years, Arteta was asked whether Simeone’s approach influenced his own.
The boss politely suggested his motivations were personal.
“No, I think I got that done more through my experiences and my beliefs and especially my understanding of Arsenal and this football club and my experience here.
“I think to put a different context to this one is extremely difficult and at the end I think you have to be authentic to your beliefs, your way of dealing with people, especially which is the most important thing when you talk about culture. Slowly you have an idea and after that, sometimes change the trajectory a little bit to understand what is best for the club.”
Simeone, back from a one game touchline ban for a red card at Anfield, won’t be the only Argentine pacing the technical area on Tuesday night. Arteta added a familiar face to his staff in the summer – former PSG teammate Gabriel Heinze – and the 47-year-old has already brought a touch of fire to the Arsenal bench.
While his own managerial career – which includes spells at Argentinos Juniors, Velez Sarsfield, Newell’s Old Boys and MLS side Atlanta United – didn’t take off, his experience as a serial winner at Manchester United, Real Madrid and Marseille has made a strong impression on the current squad.
Asked what Heinze brings to the coaching setup, Arteta said: “That willingness to win. We’ve seen that through his career, that experience to win and to elevate somebody’s level, ambition and drive to the highest limit, and he’s extraordinary at that.”
He also explained why Heinze is often seen in animated one-to-ones with players:
“That experience. I mean, if somebody tells you if you do that you’re going to be successful and you know that he’s done it and he’s been successful, it’s a lot of credibility there.
“My feeling is that they [the players] really love him, which is normal.
“But the rest of the coaches are the same. They are all very different characters, but the relationship and the bond that we have with the players, I think it’s unique and I think that’s something very, very powerful in the team.”
Simeone and Arteta might be cut from different cloth, but they share the same obsession: control, culture, and the constant pursuit of improvement.
Tuesday night should be a fascinating 0-0 draw that drives everybody crazy.
