Mikel Arteta has defended Jose Mourinho amidst recent criticism and insisted that the Portuguese coach will succeed in North London.
Mourinho has been in the firing line over the past few weeks for the uninspiring football Spurs have been playing since the return of the Premier League.
Some Spurs fans have also run out of patience with the style of play and demanded more creativity going forward after the side’s dull 0-0 draw at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday.
Arteta was appointed at Arsenal just a month after Mourinho took over at Spurs and both managers have had mixed results during their time at the helm so far.
Ahead of what will be the pair’s first North London Derby as Spurs and Arsenal bosses, Arteta lavished praise on his counter-part and confidently asserted that the 57-year-old will turn Tottenham’s fortunes around.
When asked if the Spurs head coach was still a world-class manager, Arteta told Goal.com: “Absolutely. They have had some up and downs, but overall you can clearly see what he wants to bring to the club.
“He manages the energy, the momentum and established a really strong culture in a strong football club that does it.
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“And as well, he makes sure that he wins, and he has won in every single club that he has been.
“Obviously the situation, the timing when he arrived, is different than starting a new project right from the summer, but I am sure he will be successful.
“He has always been. He always finds the right way to do it and it will take him a bit of time, but I am sure he will do it.”
The former Manchester City assistant coach insisted that it was clear to see what Mourinho was trying to implement at Tottenham and insisted that he will make the team successful if given time.
He added: “He has a very clear way of playing, a clear way of how he manages games.
“I think clean sheets are obviously a big thing that he wants to do, but his teams – don’t forget – always score a lot of goals.
“They have been really successful and they have been able to win titles because of that.
“I think in a long period they [Tottenham] have had a lot of injuries. So he hasn’t had the chance to be consistent as well with his team and that’s a big disadvantage that they have.
“I know he has done it. I know people have worked with him and he always finds a way to be successful and I am sure he will do it again.”
Spurs Web Opinion
This season has been a complete write off right from the start but there has certainly been an improvement defensively since the lockdown. The problem is that it has come at the expense of the team’s creativity going forward. Hopefully, with time, our attackers will adapt to a new counter-attacking style and will be able to maximise the attacking opportunities that come their way. I have been pleased to see Jose acknowledge the team’s failure to break the opposition down. Hopefully, he is working on a solution to help us improve in the final third.
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