Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has recounted an incident that left legendary manager Arsene Wenger scared of Mikel Arteta.
According to Walcott, he always knew Arteta was destined for success as a manager.
Arteta joined the Gunners from Everton in 2011 and spent five years before retiring and beginning his coaching career under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
He was appointed Arsenal manager in 2019, and he has turned them back into title challengers.
“The turning point for me in terms of how I viewed Mikel Arteta was an experience I had with him as a player at Arsenal,” Walcott told William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan.
“It was at a time when we weren’t making the top four. We had training in 30 minutes and he locked all the players in the dressing room as if he was the manager. He was taking control of the whole space and telling us how it is. In that moment, it was like he was the manager, and that was the turning point for me.
“That’s when I thought he could go on to be a manager. Arsene Wenger was waiting for us to come outside for training but we weren’t coming out because Mikel stopped the training session. He was such a strong character that even Arsene was afraid of him.”